Grief is washing over Gloucester Saturday morning as the Coast Guard has suspended its search for six people missing after the fishing vessel Lily Jean went down Friday morning.
A seventh crew member was found dead Friday morning.
The U.S. Coast Guard said it suspended the search Saturday morning efforts yielded no additional results.
The Coast Guard said crews searched continuously since receiving an emergency position-indicating radio beacon activation at 6:50 a.m. Friday from the 72-foot fishing vessel, approximately 25 miles off the coast of Cape Ann.
During the search, Coast Guard air and surface crews located a debris field near the beacon’s reported position, recovered the unresponsive individual from the water, and located the vessel’s life raft, which was deployed but unoccupied.
Coast Guard crews conducted coordinated search patterns based on weather conditions, sea state and available evidence and covered approximately 1,047 square miles over 24 hours using multiple aircraft, cutters and small boats.
After consultation between search and rescue mission coordinators and on-scene commanders, the Coast Guard determined that all reasonable search efforts for the missing crewmembers had been exhausted.
“The decision to suspend the search was incredibly difficult. Our thoughts and prayers are with all the family members and friends of the lost crew of the Lily Jean, and with the entire Gloucester community during this heartbreaking time,” said Capt. Jamie Frederick, commander of Coast Guard Sector Boston.
The cause of the incident is under investigation by the Coast Guard Northeast District.
This story will be updated at gloucestertimes.com.