State senator says missing fishing boat was carrying 7 people when it sank off Massachusetts

A fishing vessel that went missing off the coast of Massachusetts was carrying a crew of seven people, a State senator said Friday (January 30, 2026).

The Coast Guard launched a search and rescue mission early Friday (January 30, 2026) after receiving an alert from the 72-foot Lily Jean about 25 miles off Cape Ann. They located a debris field near where the alert was sent along with a body in the water. It said it continued to be in search and rescue mode Friday evening (January 30, 2026).

Republican State Senator Bruce Tarr told reporters on late Friday (January 30, 2026) that seven people were on the boat.

The Lily Jean, its captain, Gus Sanfilippo and his crew were featured in a 2012 episode of the History Channel show “Nor’Easter Men.” Sanfilippo is described as a fifth-generation commercial fisherman, fishing out of Gloucester, Massachusetts, in the Georges Bank. The crew is shown working in dangerous weather conditions for hours on end, spending as many as 10 days at sea on one trip fishing for haddock, lobster and flounder.

The Coast Guard said it tried unsuccessfully to contact the vessel and then launched a search that included an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, a small boat crew and the Coast Guard Cutter Thunder Bay.

They found a debris field and recovered one person from the water who was unresponsive. They also found an empty life raft.