Divers recovered the body of Scott Chandler, a 51-year-old West Jonesport, Maine, lobsterman, on Tuesday evening after he went overboard in the morning.
“Chandler was seen falling off his 20-foot lobster boat near the island at approximately 9:20 a.m. Tuesday… by commercial seaweed harvesters in the area who reported the incident,” said Jeff Nichols, a spokesman for the Maine Department of Marine Resources.
Nichols reported that divers recovered Chandler’s body near Doyle Island, about 200 yards west from where he entered the water near Hopkins Point in Jonesport, at about 5:10 p.m. on Oct. 23.
Local weather conditions on Tuesday afternoon included waves roughly a foot high and light and variable winds, according to U.S. Coast Guard spokeswoman Chellsey Phillips. A rescue crew, including members of the Coast Guard, Maine Marine Patrol, Maine State Police and the Maine Warden Service, searched 233 square miles. Phillips said rain started to fall around midafternoon, reducing visibility.
According to the Maine Department of Marine Resources, Chandler’s body was transported to a local funeral home. His 20-foot lobster boat, the Marie Louise II, was taken to the Coast Guard station in Jonesport for further investigation.
