Coast Guard suspends search for missing person after boat capsized near NYC
The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for a missing person who was aboard a boat that overturned in the frigid waters of the Ambrose Channel near Staten Island, New York, over the weekend.
After searching for 30 hours and covering about 842 square miles, the Coast Guard suspended the search at around 6 p.m. Monday. Earlier in the day, the agency identified the missing person as Vernon Glasford, 52, who was last seen wearing a gray hoody, blue jeans, and black boots.
"We extend our deepest sympathies to the family and loved ones of Vernon Glasford," Capt. Jonathan Andrechik, the Coast Guard Sector New York commander, said in a statement. "The decision to suspend a search is always difficult. Though our active search has ended, our support and sympathy remain with all those impacted by this tragic incident."
Glasford was one of six passengers onboard the 30-foot boat that overturned Sunday afternoon in the shipping channel located off the coasts of Sandy Hook, New Jersey, and the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Queens. The Coast Guard said the boat departed from Howard Beach early Sunday for a recreational fishing trip.
Multiple agencies responded to the scene and pulled five people from the water, four of whom were unresponsive, the Coast Guard said. Three people were taken to Monmouth Medical Center in Long Branch, New Jersey, and two were transported to Staten Island University Hospital – North Campus in Staten Island, New York.
The New York Police Department (NYPD) told Paste BN three victims were later pronounced dead at area hospitals. Police said one person remained in critical condition and another was in stable condition.
The NYPD has not released the names of the fatal victims pending notification of their next of kin.
The Coast Guard said the vessel was reported to be a fiberglass Grady-White boat. The North Carolina-based boat manufacturer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Officials were searching for Glasford about five miles off the coast of Breezy Point, a neighborhood at the tip of Queens’ Rockaway peninsula. The Coast Guard deployed three aircrews, four boat crews, and two ships in the response effort, which is being coordinated with the NYPD, New York City Fire Department, and New Jersey State Police.
The water temperature was measured at about 37 degrees on Monday, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Hypothermia can occur in waters below 70 degrees, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says.
It's unclear what led the boat to capsize Sunday afternoon. The NYPD said a multiagency investigation is underway.
The Ambrose Channel is the main shipping channel in and out of the Port of New York and New Jersey, according to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
(This story has been updated to add additional information.)