A boater from Rhode Island had been missing for eight days when he was found off the coast by a passing freighter two days after the Coast Guard had called off its search. The boater, identified as 22-year-old Nathan Carman, was found adrift some 100 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.
The young boater had been taking a fishing trip to Block Island when he went missing. Carman had departed from Point Judith, R.I., with his mother Linda on Sept. 17.
Despite Nathan being found, his 54-year-old mother was not with him and her whereabouts are presently unknown.
Though the search had been called off and the time at sea was lengthy, authorities stated they found Nathan Carman in good condition, and the young boater had food and water inside the boat.
Carman told authorities as well that his 31-foot boat, dubbed the “Chicken Pox”, had taken on water during the fishing trip and had ultimately capsized.
Sources are unclear as to why Carman’s mother did not make it inside the life raft with her son.
Sharon Hartstein, a friend of the Carmans, told the Hartford Courant that the two often went on monthly fishing trips together.
The 22-year-old boater was also the subject of a 2011 search that ended in Virginia.
Nathan Carman was, at the time, a 17-year-old runaway that stated he was going fishing after the death of his horse. Carman, who has Asperger’s syndrome, was found four days later.
The search for Linda Carman is still presently underway.
