Police Search Home of Man Found in Life Raft; Mother Presumed Dead

Nathan Carman, 22, of Vernon, Vermont, arrived in Boston on Tuesday morning

Investigators searched the Vermont home of a man who was rescued after more than a week lost at sea, removing on Tuesday an internet modem, a SIM card and a letter he wrote.

Nathan Carman, 22, of Vernon, Vermont, and his mother, 54-year-old Linda Carman of Middletown, Connecticut, set sail on a fishing boat on the weekend of Sept. 17. The boat sank, and Nathan Carman, authorities say, got onto a four-person inflatable raft, loading it up with food and water.

He was found alive by a Chinese freighter Sunday, about 100 nautical miles south of Martha's Vineyard. His mother, however, is still missing and presumed dead.

"Myself and my mom were fishing on Block Canyon and there was a funny noise in the engine compartment," Carman said to rescue crews in audio released by the Coast Guard. "I looked and saw a lot of water."

The Coast Guard asked what had happened to his mother.

"When I saw the life raft, I did not see my mom," Carman said. "We haven't been able to find her yet."

Tuesday, Carman was brought back to shore in Boston by the same freighter that rescued him. He did not speak as he stepped off the boat and was quickly taken to a waiting car; he underwent further questioning, authorities said.

Documents show that a search warrant was executed Monday night at Carman's Vernon home. An affidavit filed by Lt. Alfred E. Bucco from the South Kingstown Police Department in Rhode Island shows that authorities believe "evidence relating to the crime of RIGL 46-22-9.3 {Operating so as to endanger, resulting in death} will be located inside Nathan's residence."

Authorities seized Carman's modem and SIM card, as well as a letter he wrote, the nature of which was not made clear.

Back in December of 2013, Carman's maternal grandfather, real estate developer John Chakalos, was shot to death at his home in Windsor, Connecticut. His murder has not been solved.

A source close to the investigation told NBC Connecticut that Nathan Carman is being called a person of interest in the killing. At the time of the murder, he was living one town away in Bloomfield.

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