Search continues for bodies of lost fishermen

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JONESPORT – Searchers will return to the waters of Chandler Bay this morning in another attempt to recover the bodies of two of the three local fisherman who drowned when their mussel dragger was swamped by a large wave during Thursday’s storm.

The remains of 22-year-old Dawson Allen of Jonesport were discovered late Thursday night after nearly 100 people combed the shoreline with flashlights after a fruitless nine-hour search for survivors of the 12:45 p.m. accident.

Marine Patrol Officer Gordon Faulkingham said Allen’s body washed up on Popplestone Beach, just down from where the broken remains of The Little Raspy had drifted in to shore from Bar Island. He was not wearing a life jacket, Faulkingham said.

Dwayne Smith of Jonesport, the 21-year-old captain of the 35-foot stern trawler, and another crew member, 39-year-old Michael Layhart of Addison, were still missing when the Marine Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard and local fishermen suspended the second day of the search at nightfall Friday.

William Smith, Dwayne’s uncle, said The Little Raspy had been dragging for mussels in Mason Bay and was headed back to Jonesport when the accident occurred.

Smith said his brother, Ralph, who owns Moosebec Mussels Inc. was talking to his nephew on a cell phone when Dwayne told him that the boat had taken a bad wave and was starting to sink.

Ralph Smith alerted U.S. Coast Guard Station in Jonesport, which immediately launched its 41-by-22-foot search-and-rescue boat.

By the time the rescue boat reached the scene-approximately 23/4 miles from Coast Guard Station Jonesport-the dragger was upended with its bow sticking out of the water and its stern submerged.

There was no sign of the three men, but Faulkingham, who arrived on the scene shortly after 1 p.m., said life jackets and a life raft were floating in the area around the boat.

The Coast Guard, the Maine Marine Patrol and local fishermen began patrolling the area, looking for survivors, but were hampered by the weather.

Faulkingham said that looking at Friday’s calm seas, it was hard to imagine what the shore was like on Thursday afternoon.

“It was snowing and sleeting and there were 12-foot seas,” he said.

Orrin Chandler of Jonesport said the fury of Thursday’s storm wasn’t evident at dawn, when most fishing boats set out to sea.

Chandler said he transports urchin divers and he and the divers were out Thursday morning when the buyer called and said he didn’t need any. Chandler said he returned to shore around 7 a.m.

Thursday afternoon, as word of what had happened spread through the close-knit community, people began to gather on the shores of Chandler Bay.

By nightfall, The Little Raspy had drifted to within 30 yards of the shore, according to Ensign Stephanie Cushman of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Cushman said the Maine Marine Patrol/State Police dive team and local divers, assisted by the Jonesport Fire Department, cut into the hull and searched the interior of the boat but found no trace of the men.

Milton Merchant of Jonesport said people began leaving the beach at around 8:30 p.m., but one man from Beals Island refused to give up.

“Dickie Beal just stayed on that beach,” Merchant said. “He said he thought there should be someone here.”

It was Beal who found Allen’s body, Merchant said.

Faulkingham said Coast Guard vessels remained in the area throughout the night and the search for the Smith and Layhart began again at first light Friday morning.

Thursday’s storm threw up so much silt that the dive team couldn’t even see the gauges on their tanks. Lt. Raymond Bessett said he and six other divers walked side-by-side underwater in the area between where the boat went down and the shore. Standing with their hands on one another’s shoulders, they were going “by feel”, Bessett said.

Divers found a boot in the water Friday morning, but no sign of the two men.

A Maine State Police pilot circled above, flying the coastline and looking at the shore.

In early afternoon, seven local fishermen began dragging the area, looking for the bodies, according to Sgt. Marlowe Sonksen of the Maine Marine Patrol .

The draggers worked from the area near Bar Island, where the largest bag of mussels from The Little Raspy was found, Sonksen said. The search will continue at first light Saturday, he said.

Groups of area residents – including friends and family of the men – stood vigil throughout Thursday, watching from Popplestone Beach or from cars parked along side Route 187.

“They were all very well-liked in this town,” said Noreen Chandler of Beals as tears ran down her cheeks.

“Dwayne is my daughter’s boyfriend and has been coming to my home for the past year,” said Bert Look of Jonesport. “He is an exceptional boy who would do anything for you.”

Clifford Johnson III of Jonesport said he graduated from Jonesport-Beals High School with both Smith and Allen in 1997.

The two had been fishing lobsters and scallops together since they graduated, Johnson said.

“Dawson was a fun kid,” he said. “He always had a couple of good laughs in him and he was always joking.”

Allen leaves a wife, Dawn, and a daughter, Taylor, who is just over 1 year old.

Layhart and his wife, Pamela, have two children, 6-year-old Anthony Michael and 3-year-old Charity Ann, said Allen Merchant, Layhart’s father-in-law.

“He was kind of quiet, but he livened up when he was around friends, ” Merchant said. ” He was a hard worker. If there was a chance to work, he was always right there, on time.”

“These were all men of good character,” said Greg Peabody of Jonesport as he watched Thursday’s search. “It’s just a very hard situation.”

Look said Smith began lobster fishing with his father when he was just a boy. He and Allen and Layhart had been dragging mussels off Jonesport for the last week, he said.

Before that, Smith was mussel dragging off Bar Harbor and dragged for scallops for three days in Eastport before coming back to Jonesport, Look said.

Fishing is a hard life and a dangerous one, said Loni Levesque of Addison as she and Beth Chandler of Jonesport watched the search efforts Thursday.

“My brother wants to get off boats, but its the only way to make money around here,” Levesque said. “That’s all they have.”

Chandler said she has five children, three of whom are boys. All of them want to fish, she said, but she hopes they do not.

Chandler said she knows fishing is where most area men’s hearts are, but it is hard on wives and mothers.

“Every day, they go out on these boats and you just pray they will come home,” she said.