PROVINCETOWN, Mass. — The United States Coast Guard is searching for four people after a Portland-based fishing vessel sank early Monday morning.
The search is underway about 20 miles northeast of Provincetown, MA, for the 82-foot boat named Emmy Rose.
All four fishermen are from Maine, according to the boat's owner, Rink Varian.
Varian did not wish to do an interview, but told NEWS CENTER Maine his "thoughts and prayers are with the families."
The Coast Guard was alerted to a problem by an emergency radio beacon that goes off when wet. That beacon was triggered around 1 a.m at the First District Coast Guard Command Center in Boston.
Upon arrival at the boat's last known position, Coast Guard crews discovered debris and an empty life raft.
Searching are crews from:
- Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter, and HC-144 Ocean Sentry fixed-wing aircraft
- Coast Guard Station Provincetown 47-foot Motor Life Boat
- Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous, a 210-foot Medium Endurance Cutter, homeported in Virginia Beach, Virginia
- Coast Guard Cutter Key Largo, a 110-foot Patrol Boat, homeported in Gloucester, Massachusetts
Around 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, the Coast Guard provided the following update via Twitter:
Family members of one of the crew members, Jeff Matthews, told NEWS CENTER Maine the vessel left Portland last week to fish haddock in the Gulf of Maine.
"I just fell to the ground. I didn't want to believe it," Matthew's daughter Reyann said about hearing the news.
She said that last she heard the crew was doing some welding on the boat as it was taking on water.
Reyann Matthews and her cousin, Dana Matthews, were both emotional as they met with family members and friend on the Portland Fish Pier Monday afternoon. They said they refuse to give up hope.
"I just know if he's out there," Reyann Matthews said. "He won't give up."
Coast Guard officials have not yet confirmed the identities of all the missing fishermen.
Crews continued to search through the night and into Tuesday.
"I want him to come home to us and just don't want the Coast Guard to stop looking," Reyann Matthews said.
As of 9 a.m. Monday, NEWS CENTER Maine's Ryan Breton said the temperatures in the waters off Provincetown are in the low 50s. According to the Coast Guard, the weather on scene is 30-knot winds with 6-to-8-foot seas.
NEWS CENTER Maine will continue to update this story