Search Ended For Missing Boaters

CAPE MAY, N.J. - The Coast Guard has suspended its search for three commercial fishermen missing since their boat went down 20 miles off the Cape May coast.

Boats, planes and helicopters searched the storm-tossed ocean for 19 hours before halting just after 5 p.m. Thursday. A spokeswoman says there are no plans to resume searching Friday morning, when weather conditions are expected to be even worse.

49-year-old Kenneth Rose Jr., the captain of the Sea Tractor; his 75-year-old father, Kenneth Sr., and 55-year-old crew member Larry Forrest were aboard the 44-foot fishing boat Wednesday night.

Commercial fishermen in Point Pleasant Beach say the boat occasionally sold its catch there. They say the boat was based in North Carolina and usually fished out of Cape May.

Their presumed deaths bring the toll of Cape May commercial fishermen so far this year to nine. The Lady Mary sank in March, killing six.

The Coast Guard received a signal from the 44-foot boat around 8 p.m. Wednesday that the vessel was in trouble. They received a signal later indicating the boat had sunk.

The Coast Guard used two helicopters and two Coast Guard Cutters to search the rough waters. The Coast Guard spotted a life raft, but it was empty.

The search was hampered by rain, wind, and strong currents as the remnants of tropical storm Ida move up the coast.