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May 12, 2008 1:38 pm US/Eastern
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Search Called Off For Missing Lobsterman In N.H.
NEW CASTLE, N.H. (WBZ) ―
The Coast Guard called off the search for a missing lobsterman off the coast of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.
Christopher Tobey, 46, of Kittery, Maine went missing after his boat, Sav-A-Buck, sank off the Isles of Shoals Sunday with his 16-year-old son Christopher Tobey Jr. and 21-year-old crewman Robby Blackburn aboard.
The son and Blackburn were able to swim to nearby Duck Island, where they spent the night. "They said that they built a fire to keep warm," explained Connie Terrell of the U.S. Coast Guard.
A Good Samaritan picked them up Monday. Both of them were brought to the Coast Guard station in New Castle.
Captain James Rendon, the commanding officer of Sector Northern New England said it is an incredibly hard decision to call off a search. "We thoroughly covered the area with air and surface assets in hopes of finding Mr. Tobey. Our heart-felt sympathies go out to his family and friends and the entire fishing community."
Tobey's daughter called the Portsmouth Coast Guard station around 10 a.m. Monday to alert them the 44-foot boat was missing.
The three left on a trip Sunday morning, and were due to be back at 5 p.m. that day.
The Coast Guard had sent out a Jayhawk helicopter and a 47-foot search boat earlier today to search for Tobey.
The air temperature was around 50 degrees Monday afternoon, the water was 55 degrees, and the seas were 5 to 8 feet.
According to Terrell, the son and the crewman were not wearing floatation devices when they were found.
Officials are still trying to find out how Tobey's boat capsized.
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