High Winds May Have Sunk Older Waterman
CRISFIELD, Md. - A multi-agency search for an overdue fisherman that began Tuesday afternoon continues this morning in the Chesapeake Bay.
James D. Crockett, a 74-year-old man from Tangier Island, Va., was on the 38-foot fishing vessel Eldora C and scheduled to return to the island Tuesday at 1:30 p.m.
Coast Guard Station Crisfield received the overdue report of the Eldora C at 3:30 p.m. Tuesday and diverted a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Elizabeth City, N.C., who was operating near the area. Additionally, a Maryland State Police Helicopter, Trooper 4, was also diverted to assist in the search.
Weather conditions in the area Tuesday afternoon were 50-knot winds and 4-6 foot seas. At 4:30 p.m., a life ring bearing the missing vessel's name was located south of Watts Island, Va.
A Coast Guard C-130 airplane was also launched from Elizabeth City to search overnight. Several units are involved in the search this morning, including the Coast Guard Cutter Beluga from Portsmouth, Va.; a Coast Guard C-130 airplane and Jayhawk helicopter from Elizabeth City; Maryland State Police Helicopter from Salisbury, Md.; rescue boats from Coast Guard stations Crisfield and Milford Haven, Va.; the Virginia Marine Commission; Maryland Natural Resources Police; and three boats from Tangier Island.