KENNEBUNK — A water taxi missing from Portland since Wednesday has washed ashore on Parsons Beach in Kennebunk, without missing Cape Elizabeth boat captain Adam Patterson.
Kennebunk Police Lt. Eric O’Brien said Friday that the boat washed ashore at approximately 7 a.m. and that no one was on board when officers arrived. He said a gas tank from the boat washed up near Narragansett Point earlier in the morning, and Kennebunk Public Works crews were called to remove it.
The search for Patterson, which had been suspended Thursday night, is now considered a recovery effort, according to the Maine Marine Patrol. The Marine Patrol airplane, with assistance from a Coast Guard helicopter out of Cape Cod are participating in the search.
A press release issued by the Maine Department of Marine Resources Friday afternoon said the 24-foot white vessel, which Patterson operated for Portland Express Taxi, was discovered overturned and partially buried in the sand on Parsons Beach when a resident walking by reported it to the Kennebunk Police Department.
Police notified Marine Patrol and Marine Patrol Officer Ian Anderson, Charles Tetreau, along with Sgt. Tom Hale and Sgt. Rob Beal arrived on scene to secure and search the capsized vessel, the release states. According to Marine Patrol reports, the vessel’s super structure, including its roof and windshield were destroyed and debris from the vessel was found along the beach.
No evidence of foul play has been found among the wreckage. The vessel’s debris was removed from the beach by the Kennebunk Public Works Department and transported to a secure location for further inspection by Marine Patrol.
Patterson, 30, has not been heard from since he spoke with his wife by cellphone at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday, according to Maine Marine Patrol spokesman Jeff Nichols, who declined to release any information about the conversation.
Officials said security camera footage owned by DiMillo’s restaurant in Portland shows Patterson leaving the dock in the water taxi just before 3:30 a.m.
The boat was reported missing at 9 a.m.
A co-worker of Patterson’s said he secured the missing taxi at 11 p.m. Tuesday, with an estimated 30 gallons of gasoline on board. Another employee of the water taxi company determined at 5:50 a.m. Wednesday that the boat Patterson regularly operated was missing.
Security camera footage shows Patterson leaving in the vessel at 3:25 a.m., Nichols said later Thursday in a news release.
The marine patrol on Wednesday searched the coast between Portland and Yarmouth, Phippsburg and Harpswell Sound, and South Portland and the Kennebunk River, as well as of other areas of Casco Bay. They renewed that search by boat at 6 a.m. Thursday, and another boat joined at 10 a.m.
One fixed-wing aircraft from the U.S. Coast Guard and a second fixed-wing aircraft from the marine patrol also were involved in the search Thursday.
Also on Thursday afternoon, marine patrol personnel discovered Patterson’s cellphone aboard a sailboat docked at Long Wharf in Portland, where he had been staying for about 10 days. Nichols said Patterson’s vehicle was found parked in the DiMillo’s parking lot.