Efforts on to locate Montserrat fire officer missing at sea

CMC – The Antigua and Barbuda Defence Force (ABDF) Coast Guard has been contacted to assist in a search and rescue operation for a missing fire officer, John Lee, from neighbouring Montserrat.

Coast Guard officials say they were formally notified and have pledged to do their best to offer assistance to regional partners in helping to find Lee.

The police in Montserrat say Lee — who is said to be diabetic — embarked on a solo fishing trip onboard the MV Optimum about 6:30 a.m. (local time) on Wednesday. However, neither he nor the white, 30-foot long fishing boat, owned by Sheldon Carty, has been seen.

The Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre (MRCC) out of Martinique is also assisting in the coordinated search efforts along with the Coast Guard from neighbouring St. Kitts.

Beaches and inlets around Montserrat have been searched as concerns for the safety of the man, who failed to return from his expedition, mount.

Officials on Montserrat say Lee last used his phone at about 1:30 p.m. at a location 20 degrees to the southern part of the island, then it had a rapid shutdown and now goes straight to voicemail.

Commissioner Mark Payne of the Montserrat Police Force said Lee’s phone could have “run out of energy or slipped overboard” but there is hope that he could have made it to shore safely somewhere on the island.

“So lots of people out there searching but of course our best hope is that he has actually made it to shore but because of his condition might be incapacitated. So we have police officers doing a physical search of the whole coastline of the island, but of course our best weapon sometimes in these occasions is the general public.”

“If any member of the general public has seen John Lee…if anybody sees a boat floating offshore or if anybody sees a boat on the beach please contact us straight away. We much rather have false reports that we can check out rather than somebody having information that is not made available to us,” Payne said.

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