Coast Guard Suspends Search for Lady Mary Crew
Foul weather closed in quickly before boat sank
Family and friends of the four men missing gathered at the dock where the boat was based, hoping that somehow the men would be found alive.
Just five minutes. That's how fast the Lady Mary went down in the cold, rough seas off the coast of Cape May, N.J., Tuesday morning, according to the only known survivor.
Seven fishermen were aboard the ship when it sank. Two died. Four are still missing. The sole survivor, Jose Arias, said only he and two others were wearing their survival suits.
Rescue crews were back in and over the water Wednesday morning, but hope was fading that anyone else would be found alive. In 40-degree water, survival time would be under six hours for most people, according to Steven L. Labov, chief of the U.S. Search and Rescue Task Force.
By 8:00 p.m. Wednesday night, officials suspended the active search for the remaining crew members.
The Coast Guard said Tuesday that all seven crew members were wearing cold-water survival suits before abandoning ship.
Dramatic Video of Survivor Taken Out of Rescue Chopper
Foul weather closed in quickly on the Lady Mary and other ships early Tuesday, according to Sean McKeon.
"I was told the weather got real bad real fast out there," he said after speaking to several boat captains who were in the same area.
Family and friends of the four men missing have been gathered at the dock where the boat was based.
"God, we pray for a miracle," said Marcia Janifer, whose sister is engaged to Roy Smith Jr., one of the men missing.
The Lady Mary sank 65 miles off the coast of Cape May around 5 a.m.
The Coast Guard got a distress signal about two hours later.
During the first flight out, rescuers plucked Arias and two other crew members out of the water. One was dead; a second was critically injured and died later in the hospital.
Rescue crews had been sweeping a 225-square-mile area of the Atlantic Ocean for the missing men.
Copyright Associated Press / NBC 10 Philadelphia
Posted Friday, Jul 17, 2009 - 8:33 PM EST
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