Fisherman goes missing while lobster fishing in Wexford

A small coastal community in south Wexford is shrouded in sadness after a local fisherman went missing while lobster fishing.

Patrick Barry (55), from The Grange, Kilmore Quay, south Wexford, went lobster fishing at about 9am yesterday, but he was reported missing at 12.40pm.

Vessel
Two local fishermen who had been fishing close to the Saltee Islands noticed that his 9.1m (30ft) fishing boat was making no movement, and they went to investigate the vessel, the Lenora Jacinta, south of the Great Saltee near Kilmore Quay.

The two fishermen, Tom Roche and John Maddock, boarded the Lenora Jacinta.

The vessel was out of gear, but on inspection of the engine room they found no one on board.

They followed the trail of lobster pots, which had been previously laid by Mr Barry, but failed to locate him.

Search
A search operation was immediately launched, with two lifeboats – one from Rosslare and one from Kilmore Quay – joining local small boats at the scene. A Coast Guard search and rescue helicopter from Waterford also joined in the search. Naval divers from Shannon joined the operation yesterday afternoon, but came ashore along with the search vessels as darkness came in.