THE body of a fisherman who went missing off the coast of Cape Jaffa on Tuesday has been formerly identified as the search for his missing mate continued late yesterday.
Police divers made the tragic discovery of deceased 84-year-old Kingston man Ian Harding yesterday morning, located with the 5.8m fibreglass boat which was first discovered overturned around nine kilometres offshore on Tuesday afternoon.
In a press conference on the Cape Jaffa foreshore yesterday, Millicent Police Senior Sergeant Rick Errington revealed the man’s family had formally identified his body.
“The family of the recovered gentleman are obviously deeply distressed and our heart goes out to them,” Snr Sgt Errington said.
The search for the second fisherman – a 72-year-old man from Pinks Beach – continued yesterday afternoon amid challenging sea conditions.
Both men were last seen around 7am Tuesday when they left the wharf, with another fishing vessel spotting the boat protruding from the sea at around 1pm.
Snr Sgt Errington said “hope was fading” for the missing man as press-time yesterday as the on-water police searches were abandoned due to worsening conditions around 3.30pm.
“Our efforts are certainly in the avenue of trying to find the missing person, however over time that becomes more difficult owing to the conditions of the swell of the seas and the larger search parameters we have to deal with,” he said.
“The wind is hampering our extended efforts to try and find the missing person… there is no structured police response on water, because it is simply too rough and too dangerous.”
Earlier, Limestone Coast Police officer in charge Superintendent Phil Hoff said the boat appeared to capsize while involved in the retrieval of a cray pot.
“When we located the boat it was vertical and appeared to have a rope attached to something on the bottom – we suspect it is a cray pot.”
He said it was a developing situation with more information coming to hand as the search progresses.
“They are local people who are generally back on shore a couple of hours after they depart and we weren’t alerted until 1pm, so there is a reasonable window where the boat could have overturned,” he said.
“We found a couple of items that may or may not be from the vessel around nine nautical miles from where it was located.”
Snr Sgt Errington said he expected the whole Limestone Coast fishing community to be affected by the tragedy.
“In the Limestone Coast a lot of recreational fishermen go out almost daily chasing crayfish and it’s encouraged and well-enjoyed by people who live around the area,” he said.
“However, it brings with it inherent dangers, which are known by the community and every so often we have this sort of event occur and it has a deeper profound impact on the community.”
Today, if conditions permit, police will focus their efforts on recovering the capsized vessel.
“In the morning we will try to recover the vessel and searches will continue for the other missing gentleman.”
Police will prepare a report for the State Coroner.
Search efforts have involved a Challenger search and rescue jet from the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA), as well as SAPOL’s Water Operations Unit and a police helicopter.
