Divers suspended their search of the wreckage of a sunken fishing vessel for signs of its missing captain Thursday afternoon but planned to return to the location Friday, authorities said.
Crews are waiting until slack tide -- a time when the water is coolest -- to raise the boat "El Jefe" from the waters of Sandy Hook Channel. They say it may be several days before the boat can be brought to the surface.
Authorities have been looking for the ship's captain, Tom Anderson, since getting reports two days ago that his boat was sinking near the Sandy Hook peninsula.
The boat was located Wednesday morning, but efforts to search it were called off because of dangerous currents.
Searchers began combing the water for the boat after getting a report of a distressed boat taking on water on Monday afternoon. Two young fishermen told NBC 4 New York that they saw the boat sinking, but there was nothing they could do.
The Belford Seafood Co-Op said in a Facebook post Tuesday night that Anderson had been docking his boat there recently and was thought to be on the ship alone when it began to sink.
"Our thoughts and prayers go out to Captain Tom Anderson tonight," the market said in the post.
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The area is a shipping channel, and the depth average is about 50 feet. Because it's a channel, the water can go from four feet to 60 feet in a short distance, authorities said.
