Missing Boat Mi Jay: Bodies Found Drifting
Derek Cheng
New Zealand Herald
_______________
Kaikoura, (New Zealand):
The bodies of two men from the missing fishing boat Mi Jay were found in a liferaft off Kaikoura yesterday, 27 days after the vessel was last seen.
There was no sign of a third crew member. A helicopter pilot spotted the raft 13km off the coast about midday and the coastguard recovered it around 2pm.
_________________
See Also
The mystery of the Mi Jay
Investigation into fate of Mi-Jay
_________________
Police later confirmed that the raft was from the 13m Mi Jay, which left Nelson on a fishing trip on November 22. The boat had been expected to return to land by December 6.
An extensive 12-day search involving Air Force Orions, helicopters and other aircraft failed to find any sign of the Mi Jay, skipper Paul Rees, 52, or crewmen Wiremu Te Kapu Tawhiti, 53, and Cedric James, 52. A post-mortem today is expected to formally identify the two bodies. Sergeant Ian Langridge of Nelson police said questions remained over what happened to the crew and the fate of the third man.
Further investigation of the liferaft today might offer clues to the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
Dec 20, 2005
Derek Cheng
New Zealand Herald
_______________
Kaikoura, (New Zealand):
The bodies of two men from the missing fishing boat Mi Jay were found in a liferaft off Kaikoura yesterday, 27 days after the vessel was last seen.
There was no sign of a third crew member. A helicopter pilot spotted the raft 13km off the coast about midday and the coastguard recovered it around 2pm.
_________________
See Also
The mystery of the Mi Jay
Investigation into fate of Mi-Jay
_________________
Police later confirmed that the raft was from the 13m Mi Jay, which left Nelson on a fishing trip on November 22. The boat had been expected to return to land by December 6.
An extensive 12-day search involving Air Force Orions, helicopters and other aircraft failed to find any sign of the Mi Jay, skipper Paul Rees, 52, or crewmen Wiremu Te Kapu Tawhiti, 53, and Cedric James, 52. A post-mortem today is expected to formally identify the two bodies. Sergeant Ian Langridge of Nelson police said questions remained over what happened to the crew and the fate of the third man.
Further investigation of the liferaft today might offer clues to the circumstances surrounding their deaths.
Dec 20, 2005