Search Suspended For Missing Fishermen Off Martha's Vineyard

The U.S. Coast Guard suspended a search for three fishermen missing from a capsized scallop vessel on Monday. The Coast Guard spent more than 24 hours scouring the Atlantic Ocean southwest of Martha's Vineyard where one fisherman, Ernesto Santos, was rescued off a life raft — but three remain unaccounted for — after the boat sank Sunday afternoon.

The Coast Guard identified the missing fishermen on Tuesday as Gerald Bretal, Mark Cormier Jr. and Xavier Vega. The Coast Guard said indications are that those missing were not wearing survival suits or life jackets.

The Coast Guard said searches are suspended, pending new information, after all leads to whereabouts at sea have been exhausted.

The fishing vessel Leonardo, which had departed New Bedford, flipped over and sank about 25 miles off the southwest end of Martha's Vineyard. The U.S. Coast Guard received the distress signal Sunday afternoon at 3:18. The Coast Guard said crews from Cape Cod Station located and rescued the one man on a life raft Sunday afternoon.

#Update: @USCGNortheast crews have suspended the search off Martha’s Vineyard pending further developments. NOK notifications have been made.
— USCGNortheast (@USCGNortheast) November 25, 2019

Search efforts for the other three men continued throughout Monday before being called off early in the evening.