Overview
- An emergency beacon from the 72-foot trawler Lily Jean triggered a response around 6:50 a.m. Friday about 25 miles off Cape Ann, with no mayday call received.
- Search crews located a debris field, recovered one body, and found an unoccupied life raft, but no other crewmembers were located.
- Coast Guard aircraft, cutters, and boats covered roughly 1,000 to 1,047 square miles in subfreezing air, 39-degree water, and rough seas as a nor’easter approached.
- Seven people were reported aboard, including a NOAA fisheries observer; NOAA has paused observer deployments in the region until Feb. 4.
- The cause remains under investigation, with officials noting the vessel was returning full of fish and may have had an equipment or stability issue as Gloucester mourns and plans a memorial service Sunday.