Police discovered the wreckage of a blue and white fishing vessel that had run aground on the eastern side of the island of Redonda this weekend.
It is not thought to belong to John Lee, a 49-year-old fire officer from Montserrat who went missing after departing on a solo fishing trip aboard the MV Optimum on 28 August.
The Royal Montserrat Police Service’s Marine Unit responded to a report of something off the coast of Redonda on Saturday, 28 September.
According to a Facebook post on 30 September, they found the boat parts during a search of the area and saw that paint seemed to have been used to hide the vessel’s identity.
There was no sign of human life in the area, the post said, and according to the description of the vessel, it appeared not to be local.
Acting Commissioner of Police Andrew Lewis expressed a “special thanks” to the person that reported the observation to police.
He encouraged members of the community to continue to share information or concerns with any member of the Royal Montserrat Police Service.
The acting commissioner said checks are ongoing with neighbouring marine units to find out if there are any reports of a missing vessel or person.
In the post, he reminded all fisher people of the importance of having and using their safety equipment when out at sea.
The official search for John Lee ended in mid-September.
His last location was detected as 20 degrees off Garibaldi Hill, to the south of the island, and his phone was last active at 1.30pm on the day he went missing.
The only clue as to his whereabouts came when a multi-agency team found a fuel tank from his boat off the coast of Redonda a few days after he went missing.
Commissioner of Police Mark Payne said officers are continuing to gather material to learn any lessons from the “tragic circumstances”.
The Royal Montserrat Police Service can be reached at (664) 491-2555 and the Montserrat Fire and Rescue Service can be reached at (664) 491-7790.
