A boat that went missing Down East last weekend has been found off Trescott, and it’s possible one of the two men who were on board has also been located, state officials confirmed Thursday.
Using a remotely operated vehicle equipped with a camera Wednesday night, searchers saw a body that is believed to be one of the men on board the sunken boat. The vessel Sudden Impact sank in 160 feet of water near Moose Cove.
“Recovery was not possible as of last night,” officials with the Maine Department of Marine Resources said.
Chester “Chet” Barrett and his adult son, Aaron Barrett, have been missing since Saturday, when their scallop dragger disappeared after running into rough seas between Lubec and Cutler. The Addison residents had been moving the 34-foot boat from Edmunds on Cobscook Bay, where scallop fishing had just been closed for the season, to their home port of South Addison, where they hoped to resume fishing Monday.
They texted a friend that “it’s wild out here” and said they were going to try to make it to Cutler to get out of the bad weather.
Their boat never made it into port. After they were reported to the U.S. Coast Guard as overdue, that agency and Maine Marine Patrol searched for the boat Saturday evening and then again on Sunday, along with fishermen from the area in their own vessels.
Searchers zeroed in on the spot off Moose Cove after depth sounder reading showed the likely outline of a boat on the ocean bottom, but attempts to confirm that it was the Barretts’ missing boat were unsuccessful until last night.
A private dive team hired by relatives of the Barretts encountered strong currents underwater when they tried to dive to the site Wednesday morning and had to turn back empty handed.
Around 11 p.m. Wednesday, when there was “slack water” at low tide, a state dive team of officers with Maine State Police and Marine Patrol was assisted by fishermen in deploying the ROV, which was equipped with sonar and a camera.
“Using the ROV, crews were able to observe what is believed to be the body of an individual on board the vessel,” state officials said.
They said Maine Marine Patrol will continue to work with the Barretts’ family to determine what to do next. Those discussions are expected to include consultations with deep water salvage and recovery experts to determine whether bringing the boat or the body up to the surface is feasible.
