SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine – The U.S. Coast Guard, the Canadian Coast Guard, Maine Marine Patrol and Washington Country sheriffs are searching for a man who went missing Tuesday night while digging for periwinkles at low tide in the Lubec Narrows near Eastport, Maine.
Dennis Knox and Christopher Ferguson, 30, walked out to a sandbar in the narrows and separated to dig for periwinkles. When Knox heard his friend yelling for help, he went to shore to get assistance.
The Coast Guard learned of the incident at about 10:50 p.m., Tuesday, and immediately began searching.
A 41-foot utility boat and a 25-foot response boat got underway from Station Eastport, and a Jayhawk helicopter launched from Air Station Cape Cod. Maine Marine Patrol also dispatched a boat, and Washington County Sheriffs searched the shoreline. A Canadian Coast Guard helicopter was airborne at about 6 a.m., today, and arrived in the area 30 minutes later.
Knox reported that Ferguson is wearing blue coveralls, a black hat and orange gloves.
Editors Note: Periwinkles are a small, edible species of gilled sea snail found in coastal areas from Virginia to Maine.
