Crime & Safety

UPDATE: One Dies in Capsized Vessel Off Barnegat Light

Mandy Ness captain died Tuesday night after being trapped under overturned fishing boat

A Barnegat Light commercial fishing boat captain has been named as the person killed when a boat capsized about 10 miles east of the Long Beach Island port Tuesday night.

According to News12 New Jersey and the Asbury Park Press, James Mears of Barnegat Light died when the 44-foot Mandy Ness capsized. News sources said first mate Trevor Horan was rescued from the vessel by the Coast Guard with the help of James Mears' brother Rick Mears, who was aboard another nearby boat, the Frances Anne.

The Coast Guard declined to confirm the names of those involved in the incident. 

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The Mandy Ness had departed from the Lighthouse Marina in Barnegat Light Tuesday night, Coast Guard Petty Officer Crystal Kneen said Wednesday.

Kneen said the Coast Guard was first alerted to a problem when Coast Guard District 5, based in Portsmouth, Va., received an emergency position radio beacon notification, which is a distress call, from the location east of Barnegat Light, at 11:15 p.m.

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When such indicators are activated, they send a signal to the Coast Guard, which can often pinpoint the location and can also identify the vessel in distress since the signals are registered to specific vessels, Kneen said.

District 5 then contacted the Coast Guard in Philadelphia, which issued an urgent marine information broadcast and launched an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Atlantic City and a 47-foot Motor Life boat crew from Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light.

Before the Coast Guard arrived at the scene, the Frances Anne, which gained fame after being featured on the Discovery Channel show Swords, heard the broadcast and found the Mandy Ness. The crew aboard the Frances Anne was able to rescue one of the two people aboard the Mandy Ness, Kneen said.

When the Coast Guard Dolphin Crew arrived, a rescue swimmer dove in and heard tapping from under the capsized vessel, Kneen said.

The swimmer pulled out an unresponsive person, who was given CPR and transported by medevac helicopter to an air station, transferred to medical personnel and transported to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center Mainland Campus in the Pomona section of Galloway Township, Kneen said.

A coroner at the hospital pronounced the person dead on arrival, Kneen said.

The Coast Guard does not yet know why the vessel capsized, but is doing an investigation, including a fly-over to view debris.

Horan's grandmother told the Press of Atlantic City her grandson thought something might have hit the boat. She said he described a terryfing escape from the flooded vessel in the dark, into frigid waters.

At the time of the incident, there were 15 knot winds and three-foot seas, according to the Coast Guard.


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