BOSTON – The Coast Guard ended its search at 9:41 a.m., today, for the 57-year-old boat captain from New Bedford, Mass., who went missing after his fishing boat capsized approximately 115 miles east of Cape Cod, Mass., early Thursday morning.
Coast Guard crews searched for Antonio Mesquita from New Bedford, Mass., the captain of the Costa & Corvo, for more than 30 hours and covered more than 280 square miles, but did not find him.
“The decision to end a search is one of the most difficult ones to make,” said Petty Officer First Class Gerald Welton, the search and rescue controller at the First District Command Center in Boston. “Our thoughts are with Mr. Mesquita’s family and friends.”
The 270-foot Coast Guard Cutter Seneca from Boston, the 110-foot Coast Guard Cutter Grand Isle from Gloucester, Mass., and Jawhawk helicopter and Falcon Jet crews from Air Station Cape Cod scoured the area in hopes of finding Mesquita.
The three crewmen aboard the Costa & Corvo, Francisco Brito, Joao Matias and Jorge Talma, all from New Bedford, were rescued by nearby vessel, Mary K, Thursday morning. The crewmen were taken to Station Cape Cod Canal Thursday night by Coast Guard Cutter Grand Isle.
The Coast Guard is investigating the cause of the incident.
Editor’s Note: The initial story stating the Mary K was the sister ship of Costa & Corvo is incorrect. The Mary K is not the sister ship of the Costa & Corvo.
