Coast Guard Searching For Missing Boat 40 Miles Off Barnegat

BARNEGAT, NJ - The Coast Guard is still searching for the Queen Ann's Revenge, a 46-foot fishing boat that sent out a distress call very early Thursday morning, spokesman Seth Johnson said.

The Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads in Portsmouth, Virginia received an emergency position-indicating radio beacon alert (EPIRB) at 1:20 a.m. roughly 40 miles off the coast of Barnegat.

Fishermen also notified the Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay boat of a distress call shortly after the EPIRB alert, according to a Coast Guard release.

An MH-65 Dolphin search and rescue helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City was launched, and located the EPIRB, Johnson said.

A Good Samaritan fishing boat crew is aiding in the search for possible debris. Any mariners who discover items related to Queen Ann's Revenge are asked to contact Sector Delaware Bay watchstanders at 215-271-4940.

Coast Guard 47-foot motor life boat crews from Coast Guard Station Manasquan Inlet and Barnegat Light, HC-130 Hercules aircrews from Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina and the Coast Guard Cutter Lawrence Lawson are involved in the search, Johnson said.

This is a developing story. Patch will update when more information is available.

Logo: Courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard