NEED TO KNOW
Authorities said a fishing boat that had left Orleans, Mass., on June 8 has not yet returned“A cellphone ping last placed the vessel two miles offshore Chatham,” the Coast Guard saidA father and daughter discovered a GPS unit on a beach supposedly belonging to the missing boat
The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a fishing boat off Cape Cod that has been overdue for several days now, while a GPS unit linked to the vessel was found by a father and daughter.
On Tuesday, June 10, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England said via Facebook that the boat, F/V Seahorse, “was known to be fishing in the vicinity of Target Ship Wreck near Eastham in the Cape Cod Bay.”
“A cell phone ping last placed the vessel two miles offshore Chatham,” the agency added.
The ship’s captain has been identified as Shawn Arsenault. The Coast Guard also described the 30-foot vessel as white with “a mermaid on the bow and ‘SEAHORSE’ painted on the stern in rough lettering.”
A photo shared by the U.S. Coast Guard depicting the missing F/V Seahorse.
U.S. Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England/Facebook
In a news release shared on Tuesday, the Orleans Police Departmentwho are assisting in the search, said the boat departed Orleans, Mass., on Sunday, June 8, and had since not returned.
As reported by ABC affiliate WCVBthe boat carried Arsenault, 64, and his girlfriend, Felicia Daley, 54. The couple was reportedly planning to go clamming.
PEOPLE reached out to the Coast Guard on Wednesday, June 11, for additional information. In an email to CBS affiliate WbzCoast Guard Lt. Quinn LeCain said Arsenault was reportedly seen throwing electronic equipment overboard.
“We can’t confirm what exactly was thrown overboard. There was a Facebook comment saying that it was his old GPS,” LeCain said.
Coast Guard Cmdr. Cliff Graham similarly stated, per WCVB. “It was reported he was throwing something overboard. I can’t confirm what kind of equipment or what it was specifically.”
Meanwhile, Sam Miller said she and her dad found a GPS unit with ‘F/V Seahorse’ on it at a beach Sunday morning, WBZ reported.
“Just hoping they find him quickly,” Miller told the outlet. “I noticed in the surf there was something floating, so I went down to see what it was, and it turned out to be, we could tell it was a GPS unit off of a boat.”
Miller’s family left a note on Arsenault’s truck, and then contacted the harbormaster when they noticed the truck had not moved the following day, per WCVB. The harbormaster then notified the Coast Guard.
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LeCain said the Coast Guard was alerted about the boat’s disappearance on Tuesday morning, per the Cape Cod Times. Water and shoreline searches were performed in Cape Cod Bay and Nantucket Sound.
Arsenault’s brother expressed his concern, telling WCVB: “The boat was just checked out by his mechanic, he said everything was A-OK. He just got a new radar, a fish finder, and he was all excited about that. He got it all hooked up. He said he was going not coming home until he has his 30 bags.”
Members of the public with information about the boat are encouraged to call the Coast Guard or the Orleans Police Department, which PEOPLE also reached out for comment.
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