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A second person is saved by boat captained by deceased man's brother
BY TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Despite the efforts of Coast Guardsmen, a fishing boat captain died late Tuesday when his 44-foot scalloper and monkfish vessel capsized in the frigid Atlantic Ocean 10 miles east of Barnegat.
The man is identified as John Mears of Barnegat Light, owner of the vessel the Mandy Ness, which sails from the Mears’ family-owned Lighthouse Marina in Barnegat Light.
A helicopter from Air Station Atlantic City transported Mears to AtlantiCare Regional Medical Center in Pomona where he was pronounced dead by the medical examiner. Coast Guardsmen found Mears inside his water-filled vessel, performed CPR and raised him into the helicopter.
A second man, who the Coast Guard did not immediately identify, was rescued by the 72-foot fishing vessel Francis Anne, captained by Mears’ brother, Rick Mears, after the crew heard a Coast Guard call for assistance. The Francis Anne also is out of Barnegat Light.
Coast Guard watchstanders received the emergency position indicating radio beacon notification at 11:15 p.m. Tuesday from the Mandy Ness. The Coast Guard then launched a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Barnegat Light Station.
The helicopter arrived on scene, deployed a rescue swimmer and medevaced John Mears from the water.
The incident is under investigation by the Coast Guard.
Daniel Mears, another brother of John Mears, is the captain of the Monica, a commercial fishing boat out of Barnegat Light.
