July 6, 2017 — The death of a 26-year-old Maine fisherman, found aboard a vessel moored at the Jodrey State Fish Pier over the holiday weekend, is being categorized by the Essex District Attorney’s office as a suspected drug overdose.
Neither the state medical examiner’s office nor law enforcement authorities would confirm the identity of the man who was found aboard the FV/Titan at the fish pier off Parker Street early Saturday morning. A positive identification and definitive cause of death were, as of Wednesday, pending findings by state medical examiner’s office, said Carrie Kimball Monahan, spokeswoman for the office of Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett.
Massachusetts state police from the DA’s office, following a call from Gloucester police, responded to a report of an unattended death. The troopers and Gloucester police found drug paraphernalia at the scene, indicating a likely overdose, Kimball Monahan said. There were no signs of foul play, and the DA’s office is not actively investigating, she said.
“If there is a presence of drug paraphernalia on or in the vicinity of the deceased, we will categorize that as a suspected drug overdose,” Kimball Monahan said. The DA’s office tracks overdose deaths each year for Essex County.
John McCarthy, Gloucester’s interim police chief, said Wednesday that police and the Fire Department’s rescue squad had responded to a call from an “unknown party” around 5:30 a.m. Saturday reporting an apparent drug overdose on the fishing boat Titan.
He said police and Fire Department paramedics found the 26-year-old man on the boat, and administered nasal naloxone, a drug that temporarily reverses the effects of an opioid overdose often known by its trade name, Narcan.