BOSTON — The Coast Guard ended its search for a 47-year old Rhode Island fisherman in Narragansett Bay, R.I., Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2009.
Coast Guard crews searched for 26 hours for Chester Kidd, of West Warwick, R.I., covering 284 square miles, but were unable to locate him.
"Our thoughts are with the family and friends of Mr. Kidd," said Scott Backholm, a search and rescue controller at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England. "As a life saving service, it's never easy to end a search with someone still missing at sea."
The Kingston Fire Department located Kidd's boat in about 20 feet of water approximately one mile southwest of Patience Island, R.I. Tuesday afternoon. The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management plan to work with state divers to raise the vessel.
A 41-foot boat crew from Coast Guard Station Castle Hill, a Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod and several state and local agencies searched for Kidd.
Kidd was fishing for quahog clams between Rocky Point and Quonset Point in Narragansett Bay aboard his 18-foot boat when he called a friend from his cell phone, stating that his boat was going down and he needed help.
