LUBEC, Maine — It has been more than three years since Trescott fisherman Joseph Jones, then 29, went down with his fishing vessel The Bottom Basher in a treacherous area of Cobscook Bay, but neither his body nor his boat has been located or recovered.
Last week, a dragger operating in Whiting Bay recovered Jones’ wallet.
“His is the only body we’ve never recovered,” Maine Marine Patrol Specialist Russell Wright said Tuesday morning in reference to the incident.
The bodies of two crewmen who also went down on Oct. 20, 2009, with The Bottom Basher while dragging for sea urchins were recovered. The body of Daryl Cline of Machiasport, 41, was recovered the day after the sinking. The body of Norman Johnson of Cutler, 57, was recovered in December 2009.
Wright said Tuesday that the discovery of Jones’ wallet won’t immediately trigger a new search for his body and his 34-foot vessel.
“There are a lot of scallop and sea urchin draggers out there now, in areas that have been closed for three years, so maybe they’ll find something else,” Wright said.
The Bottom Basher was one of three fishing vessels to be lost in Cobscook Bay during a nine-month period during 2009. The area near the Whiting Bay reversing falls is known by local fishermen for its potentially treacherous currents and tides.