June 4, 2015 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:
The Maine Marine Patrol and the US Coast Guard responded this morning to a report of a recreational fishing vessel with a deceased individual on-board.
The Maine Marine Patrol was notified by the US Coast Guard Sector Northern New England at 5:15 a.m. that they were towing a fishing vessel, registered in Maine, into York Harbor with one deceased individual aboard. One other individual who had notified the Coast Guard was also on board.
Marine Patrol Sergeant Tom Hale responded by truck and went to York Harbor Town Dock where the 28 foot recreational fishing vessel had been towed by US Coast Guard.
According to initial investigation conducted by Coast Guard, the two were fishing approximately 13 miles off York Harbor near Jeffrey’s Ledge last night when they experienced engine problems and dropped an anchor. One individual on-board fell asleep and when he woke in the morning he found the other individual deceased near the open engine compartment. He then contacted the Coast Guard by VHF radio about the deceased individual and explained that the vessel had become inoperable, at which point the Portsmouth Coast Guard responded.
The names of the two individuals, who are both from Vermont, are not being released until notification of next of kin.
The details of what caused the engine failure and the cause of death are under investigation.