Marine Patrol Divers Don't Find Missing Boats

LUBEC (NEWS CENTER) -- Divers with the Maine Marine Patrol were unsuccessful Saturday in their search in Cobscook Bay for the remains of the two urchin fishing boats that sunk there. 

Divers were using information gathered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that pinpointed two areas of interest.  The NOAA team used side scan sonar last week to search the bay's bottom for any signs of the Bottom Basher and All American.

Sgt. Jay Carroll of the Maine Marine Patrol said the site above the falls appears to be ledge.  The divers were not able to find anything below the falls, he said.

The Bottom Basher sank October 20 with three men on board.  Searchers found the body of Darrel Cline, 41, of Lubec, but the bodies of Joseph Jones, 29, of Trescott, who owned the boat, and Norman Johnson, 57, of Cutler remain missing.

The All American sank in March.  Searchers found the body of Loren Lank, 53, of Lubec, but the body of Logan Preston, 19, of Roque Bluffs is still missing.

The Maine Marine Patrol and local pilots helped get the NOAA team and its side scan sonar to the bay last week.  The team is able to differentiate between rocks and man-made debris on the ocean floor.  These two areas above and below "The Falls" were the only two NOAA pinpointed as potential crash sites.