BOSTON — The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Saturday morning for missing crewmembers from the fishing vessel Lily Jean, concluding that no additional survivors were likely after an extensive, round-the-clock effort.
Rescue crews began searching Friday after receiving an emergency position-indicating radio beacon alert from the 72-foot vessel about 25 miles off Cape Ann, Massachusetts. Seven people were reported aboard.
The missing crew members have been identified as Captain Gus Sanfillipo, John Paul Rousanidis, Sean Therrien, Freeman Short, Jada Samitt, Paul Beal Sr, and Paul Beal Jr.
During the search, air and surface crews located a debris field near the beacon’s position, recovered one unresponsive individual from the water, and found the vessel’s life raft deployed but empty.
Over roughly 24 hours, crews covered about 1,047 square miles using multiple aircraft, cutters and small boats. Search patterns were adjusted based on weather, sea conditions and evidence collected on scene.
After consultation between search-and-rescue coordinators and commanders, officials determined all reasonable efforts had been exhausted.
“The decision to suspend the search was incredibly difficult. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the family members and friends of the lost crew of the Lily Jean, and with the entire Gloucester community during this heartbreaking time,” said Capt. Jamie Frederick, commander of Coast Guard Sector Boston.
Frederick said the determination was based on frigid air and water temperatures, the time elapsed since the vessel sank, the recovery of one crew member without a survival suit, and the discovery of an empty life raft.
Sanfilippo and members of his crew were previously featured in a 2012 episode of the Nor’Easter Men on the History Channel, which documented the dangerous work performed by commercial fishermen in the region.
The cause of the incident remains under investigation by the Coast Guard Northeast District.
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