Coast Guard searches for missing lobsterman

The Coast Guard is searching for a Maine lobsterman who went missing Monday while aboard a 21-foot skiff.

Chris Whitaker, 24, left Matinicus Island and last was seen at about noon near Zephyr Ledges, according to a press release from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Another local lobsterman later found a boot, a lunch box and rain gear near West Black Ledge and notified the Coast Guard at about 3:30 p.m. Whitaker’s mother confirmed the items were his, according to the press release.

A 47-foot motorized lifeboat from the Rockland Coast Guard station, a search plane from Naval Air Station Brunswick and several fishing vessels from Matinicus searched the harbor between Matinicus Island and Seal Island, according to the Coast Guard.

The press release also indicated that the Coast Guard cutters Jefferson Island and Moray were en route Monday evening to continue the search effort.

“We are going to search the area into the night with our surface assets, and we have a helicopter flight out of Air Station Cape Cod scheduled for first light tomorrow,” said John Tomaszewski, a search and rescue controller at the Coast Guard command center in Boston.