Overview
- The 50-foot sportfishing boat sank on Oct. 18 in Oregon Inlet while being moved from Cape May, N.J., toward Florida with a planned repair stop in Beaufort, N.C.
- Authorities identified the men as Francis Hennigan Jr., 50, who was found unresponsive and later pronounced dead, and Taylor Flannery, 29, who survived with minor injuries.
- Investigators with the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission reported the vessel was under power from three of its four engines when it went down.
- Both men were thrown into the water without life jackets, and Flannery stayed afloat using an emptied detergent bottle before finding a life jacket until the U.S. Coast Guard arrived about 30 minutes later.
- The overturned boat later washed ashore on the north end of Pea Island, and state officials say the cause of death will be determined by the medical examiner as the probe continues.