By Elesha George
[email protected]
A search for 49-year-old John Lee, who has been missing since August 29, turned up no new clues on Monday, as his partner, Marcella Watt, made a last-ditch effort to find anything that may lead to his whereabouts.
Lee, a fire officer and experienced fisherman from Montserrat, was last seen leaving the island for a solo fishing trip aboard his 30-foot vessel, the MV Optimum. Lee’s last location was detected as 20 degrees off Garibaldi Hill, to the south of the island. His phone was active until around 1:30 pm on the day he disappeared. Since then, the only sign of his vessel has been a fuel tank, found last Sunday off the coast of Redonda, an uninhabited island located roughly 10 kilometers from Montserrat.
Monday’s aerial search took just over an hour to complete. Francois Leblanc, a pilot with CalvinAir began his search on the coast of Redonda, circling several times for wreckage from his boat or any signs of Lee. He flew over Redonda as well as on the North coast of Monserrat where the island’s seaport is located.
“We did the best we could today. I think the area that we covered was extensive enough to determine that he wasn’t there in that particular spot,” Leblanc said.
Lee’s family had initially remained optimistic due to his experience as a member of Montserrat’s emergency search and rescue operations, believing he might have found a way to survive the sea conditions. But after 12 days, Leblanc admitted “It would have been a miracle” to find Lee [alive].
“The chances of finding anyone in this area after 24 hours is incredibly slim, Leblanc explained as he flew 500 feet near water level. At this point, he noted, any debris that did not possibly sink with the boat would have drifted towards South America.
Yesterday’s search was overseen by Adanna Piper, a close friend of Lee’s family.
“We’re really disappointed” said Media Relations Specialist for Ayre Media, Jamila Kirwan. “Even though Frank said there would have been a slim-to-none chance of seeing him, we were still holding on to a bit of hope. That is what we try to provide – a bit of hope.”
Approximately a week ago, Montserrat’s Commissioner of Police, Mark Payne, announced that search operations would be scaled back due to the low likelihood of finding Lee alive, though efforts would continue in hopes of recovering items from his vessel.
The Royal Montserrat Police Service had been conducting searches using their Heliconia Star police vessel, and they have been supported by the Montserrat Volcano Observatory, the Disaster Management Coordination Agency, and the Montserrat Fire and Rescue Service.
The search efforts have also been coordinated by the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Martinique, with assistance from the coast guards of St Kitts and Nevis and Antigua.
