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Update: Coast Guard Suspends Search, Still No Sign Of Missing Boater

Madison, Guilford, East Haven, Branford, West Haven fire departments among shoreline emergency response teams that aided in search Friday night after call came in from distressed boater in West Haven. USCG Cutter Chinook, Falcon Jet search as well.

 

Update as of 12:10 p.m.

The Coast Guard just sent a new press release announcing the search has been suspended because "rescue crews were unable to locate any signs of distress this morning. The search was suspended at approximately 10 a.m. after Coast Guard air and boat crews along with local agencies, searched throughout the night and into the morning and were unable to find any debris."

Update as of 11 a.m. Saturday:

The U.S. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound station in New Haven reports that the HU-25 Falcon Jet, a medium-range surveillance fixed-wing aircraft used to perform search and rescue, has completed a sweep of Long Island Sound in the area where a boater was reported missing Friday night.

A Coast Guard dispatcher said there is still no sign of the missing boater and that Coast Guard officials are meeting to assess the situation and determine next steps.

The Falcon Jet was flown in from the U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (ASCC), at the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod, to help with the search, after search efforts by local fire department rescue boats, along with a Coast Guard helicopter and a Coast Guard cutter from the New London base were not able to find the missing boater, who called in a distress signal Friday night.

Original story:

As of 5:20 a.m. Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard was still searching for a boater who called in seeking help Friday night after his boat hit a rock and started taking on water.

A dispatcher from the U.S. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound stationed in New Haven said initial reports indicate that one adult male was on board, and that he reported striking a reef in Long Island Sound near Chick's Drive In in West Haven, which is off of Beach Street near Morse Park in West Haven.

The dispatcher said fire departments from Madison, Guilford, East Haven, Branford, and West Haven initially responded to the call, which came in around 10:49 p.m. Friday.

"We [the Coast Guard] are still currently searching," he said Saturday morning. "As far as we know it was one adult male. He didn't give us a whole lot of information. He said he struck a reef off of Chick's Drive In in West Haven, he was taking on water, he was shooting off flares and abandoning ship."

The dispatcher said a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter did a search Friday night and that the USCG's 87-foot patrol boat headquartered in New London, the Coast Guard Cutter Chinook continued searching Friday night and Saturday morning. A Coast Guard jet from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod (ASCC), located at the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Cape Cod, was en route to Connecticut as of 5 a.m. Saturday help with the search.

Fire Chief Dave Thomas said Saturday that a crew from his company responded to a call for help late Friday. The request for help said that a boater was missing "east of Faulkner's Island," Thomas said. The fire company crew searched the area until the Coast Guard let them know their help was no longer needed, Thomas said.

Madison Maiden May 12, 2012 at 01:57 pm
Madison Fire Dept. is looking for a boat in West Haven? The article didn't mention any of the numerous shoreline law enforcement marine patrols regarding rescue and homeland security situations. Where were they?
Pem McNerney (Editor) May 12, 2012 at 02:57 pm
Hi. Good question. I just spoke with Madison Hose Co. No. 1 Fire Chief Dave Thomas. Around 10:49 p.m. last night they received a report of a boater missing "east of Faulkner's Island." They responded to the call, assisted with the search, until the Coast Guard let them know that their help was no longer needed. As you can see from the article, several other towns responded as well. Madison is one of several shoreline towns equipped to make the search, so they were asked to help.
Alfonzo May 12, 2012 at 03:30 pm
The Madison Hose Company Fire Dept is great, the best ever, hands down. They do an outstanding job regarding rescues.
Just asking... food for thought.... you never see any certified police law enforcement on the water enforcing laws and discouraging dangerous activity before accidents and tragedy occurs. We see news article after article about drunk boaters free to do whatever they want on the water injuring and killing people. You would also think there would be an increased certified law enforcement presence on the water after 911 and due to the formation of The Homeland Security Administration. If a terrorist wanted to disrupt shipping commerce or cause problems with any massive fuel and oil storage tanks, they are all located locally along the ports in Connecticut. The only way to get to and from them by boat is up and down Long Island Sound, right past Madison. An aggressive proactive approach rather than an after the fact reactive approach should be considered. There many be a few police marine patrols around someplace, but they likely seldom perform regular enforcement patrols. It would be interesting if The Madison Patch could do some research or a survey to find out exactly how many Active (pro-active) Certified Police Law Enforcement Marine Patrols we actually have in our area to address drunk boaters, other criminal and potential terrorist activity, enforce boating safety etc. It appears there are none.
Pem McNerney (Editor) May 12, 2012 at 03:48 pm
I have to agree with you about Madison Hose Co. No. 1. Whether it's rescuing a kid who locked himself in his mama's car, searching for a lost boater, or dealing with a fire or car crash, they are there for us. Here is more information about the volunteer fire company and how people can help support them: http://madison-ct.patch.com/listings/madison-hose-co-no-1
As for your other point, interesting. Good idea. I think the Coast Guard or state EnCon/DEEP do some of that enforcement. I've seen news reports of that. I'll see if I can find out more. If you have any suggestions for how to pursue such a story, would love to hear that too.
Elissa Bass (Editor) May 12, 2012 at 04:01 pm
The Coast Guard just sent a new press release announcing the search has been suspended because "rescue crews were unable to locate any signs of distress this morning. The search was suspended at approximately 10 a.m. after Coast Guard air and boat crews along with local agencies, searched throughout the night and into the morning and were unable to find any debris."
Pem McNerney (Editor) May 12, 2012 at 04:17 pm
Here's a good point made on the story that was posted in Branford Patch: "ALL boaters need to have a DSC equipped VHF marine radio with GPS that has a valid MMSI number. In an emergency push the red button and help is on the way. The CG will know instantly who and where you are. This would cut the search time down extremely low."
If you call in your cell phone, it just isn't the same. Also, boaters should always wear their PFDs, USCG approved life jackets. If you don't, by the time you need it, it's probably going to be too late to put it on.
Pem McNerney (Editor) May 12, 2012 at 04:19 pm
And from the East Haven story: "I hope this turns out well. But on the other hand at the beginning of every boating season such "may day" calls start and are hoaxes. Those making such calls do so for the fun of it, not really knowing what its starts as to a response from those that risk their lives in conducting searches. Helicopters up, boats responding from numerous stations, and at any time something bad could happen to those on board. If it is a hoax call it will not be the last of the season, sorry to say it is just beginning. If it was real and the boater made it to shore have the courage to call and say everything is all right and thanks to those that responded to help."
Richard Poulton May 12, 2012 at 04:33 pm
Pem, thanks for the re-print of my EH Patch comment. It's been many many years since my time on the NHPD Marine unit, and countless times fake distress calls were made, resulting in boats from NH, NL and as far away as Eatons Neck responding, never mind choppers from NYC. With that said, I understand the ID system you mention, but is there a way of tracing with a squak chip installed, when using channel 16? Not so much as a locator but owner ID'ed system. Hit the mic key when on 16 and you are identified in a data base thats traceable. Just curious.
Pem McNerney (Editor) May 12, 2012 at 04:37 pm
That's a good question. I have a VHF Marine radio and really don't know much about how to use it. I suspect I'm not alone in that. Maybe I could look into that more and do a story about it, time allowing. Seems like a good time of year to do that. If any other readers can shed light on Richard's question, would love to hear from you.
patricia donohue May 12, 2012 at 06:08 pm
if a hoax, imagine also the expense to deploy all of these resources, as well as, the safety issues you note. And, might these resources be needed elsewhere, for a real emergency, how sad to have them off on a merry chase. i agree, anyone in a real dilemma, that he/she is able to resolve, should call the authorities immediately.
Gabe Balsamo May 13, 2012 at 03:38 am
I'm not sure if VHF radios at a recreational level have radio ID capability but some of the new VHF radios 2011 and later have a program called "Rescue 21 Technology" and "MMSI" This allows the boater to have the vessel information/ emergency contact info (assuming it is connected to your on board GPS) and location transmitted to the USCG to let them know you are in danger when an alert button is pushed. Many times boaters do not take the time to register their vessel info--which can end up being very important! check out the following link for further info http://www.boatus.com/MMSI/
Pem McNerney (Editor) May 13, 2012 at 03:53 am
Very useful information! Thanks!
Bart the boater May 14, 2012 at 03:32 am
USCG does not have the manpower or authority to enforce state boating laws or municipal boating ordinances. They will respond to a rescue after the fact but other than that, usually only have time to address federal regulatory situations. DEEP has very limited resources also and don't do many if any regular law enforcement patrols out on the water. USCG and DEEP both count on local shoreline municipalities for certified law enforcement marine patrols to perform regular patrols regarding arrests for local and state statute boating violations. However no active municipal police marine patrols exist. The end result is that boaters on Connecticut waters in L.I.S. are free to operate in a reckless manner or engage in criminal activity without fear of detection or apprehension. A suggestion for The Patch would be to include a separate section each week for each shoreline town for marine patrol case numbers, investigations and arrests on L.I.S.
Bart the Boater May 14, 2012 at 12:02 pm
To: RB. Thank you for the update. I trust you are referring to P.O.S.T law enforcement certified patrols that have the legal authority to stop or arrest boaters for violating state and local laws. You should consider having their enforcement and investigative activity reported to the media police blotters on a weekly basis so everyone becomes aware of their daily patrol activity. Not only will they get well deserved recognition, it will serve as a deterrent to bad boating and criminal activity on the Sound. In the past, certified law enforcement area marine patrols only went out occasionally on the weeks ends, but I guess from what you are saying, they are now out all the time in a proactive detection and apprehension mode. I also didn't realize that the towns of Fairfield, Bridgeport, Stratford, Milford, West Haven, New Haven & Branford patrolled Madison waters and feel much better knowing that now. Thank you again for the clarification and piece of mind.
Bart the Boater May 14, 2012 at 12:25 pm
Now I'm more confused after this Google. Do all those other towns RB mentioned above have the legal authority to patrol and enforce sate and local boating laws in Madison waters or not? Several law enforcement agencies enforce Connecticut's state statutes and regulations and federal navigational laws. The United States Coast Guard patrols federal waters and enforces Federal Laws. P.O.S.T. (Police Officer Standards and Training Council) certified municipal police officers, certified state conservation police officers, certified town marine officers, certified lake patrolmen and certified harbormasters are empowered to enforce state boating regulations. IN THEIR JURISDICTION, P.O.S.T. certified enforcement officers have authority to stop and board boats to check for compliance with federal or state law or to search without warrant, upon probable cause that other laws have been violated.
Bart the Boater May 15, 2012 at 09:19 am
Thank you RB. I guess I will try those other (phone) numbers you listed next time when there is a need. Boaters don't always have a working cell phone / coverage. Currently all boats I know of have marine channel 16 but when you call into local shoreline towns or police departments, no one ever answers. I don't know if they just don't bother to monitor the emergency marine frequency or if they even have a marine radio. That may be something to look into. Maybe a law that requires towns that boarder Long Island Sound to have and monitor an emergency radio marine frequency to assist boaters in their jurisdiction that are in distress. I would think they all must already have some type of 24 hour emergency dispatch center anyway for police, fire, ambulance so it shouldn't be any additional burden to also monitor marine channel 16. Do you know if Madison does this or not?
Charles Shea May 18, 2012 at 05:06 pm
We are sure the open house of all area marine patrols will be will be a very nice show and tell but the reality is that it is mostly all show and very little go in the actual marine enviroment on L.I.S. Reactive rather than proactive unfortunately. Not due to any lack of commitment or dedication by any crew members but more toward the politicians who say it's someone elses responsibility to find and spend required operating funds. All the finger pointing won't start until after some major disatser on or related to the water of L.I.S. followed by costly civil litigation.

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Hand student June 18, 2013 at 11:14 pm
That's the farthest thing from the truth I've ever heard. All the students of the class of 2013 wentRead More through similar things last year. It was a harmless prank. Stop posting about kids who are graduating and are making the best of their last few days at Hand. Grow up. Stop complaining about absolutely nothing.
mike June 19, 2013 at 12:22 am
Are you kidding? This is a ridiculous accusation. I'm a current Junior at Hand, and was walking toRead More my car when this happened. 1) the people who didn't want to get wet CROSSED THE STREET. Where the water balloons couldn't reach, and took the long way around. Also, they rolled their windows up to prevent someone from getting the inside of their car wet 2.) I watched Zittoun yell at the seniors countless times, but they are no longer under his control technically, as they've all finished exams and are done with school. Our school's officer was directing traffic at the intersection. Stop taking everything your kid says as fact. Jesus.