Search Called Off for Missing Fishermen Off Cape Cod

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended the active search for four missing fishermen off the coast of Massachusetts after 38 hours and more than 2,000 square miles searched.

Watchstanders from the Coast Guard First District Command Center in Boston received an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) notification from the 82-foot commercial fishing vessel, Emmy Rose, approximately 20 nautical miles off Provincetown at around 1:30 a.m., Monday.

The vessel’s owner reported there were four people aboard, and there were no answers on the vessel’s satellite phone. The Emmy Rose was en route to Gloucester, Massachusetts.

The weather on scene on Monday was 30-knot winds with 6-to-8-foot seas.

The Coast Guard said crews recovered the Emmy Rose’s EPIRB and life raft with no sign of the fishermen or the vessel.

“The decision to suspend a search is never an easy one. Our crews conducted searches continuously for over 38 hours covering an area of approximately 2066 square miles,” said Capt. Wesley Hester, Search and Rescue mission coordination, Coast Guard’s First District. “We extend our condolences to the friends and loved ones of these fishermen during this trying time.”

The Coast Guard’s search involved multiple assets including the USCGC Vigorous (WMEC-627), USCGC Key Largo (WPB 1324), an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, and a HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing aircraft.