By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

Rescuers searching for a missing elderly Abaconian fisherman have recovered his boat adrift at sea. The Sandy Point community in Abaco has been rocked by the disappearance of 73-year-old fisherman James Green.

The elderly man was last seen by his son at around 7am last Tuesday leaving Sandy Cay in a 17ft white and green striped Malibu boat with a 40HP Yamaha outboard engine, according to Superintendent Walter Henderson.

The Royal Bahamas Defence Force, Bahamas Air Sea Rescue Association, local fishermen and the US Coast Guard have been searching for him.

Jason Roberts, pastor of Mount Zion Native Baptist Church in Abaco, told The Tribune yesterday: “I visited his wife about four days back and also his brother. The community has been rocked by such a sudden and seemingly tragic occurrence. Mr Green is known as a veteran and seasoned fisherman and he would have been the last person anyone would imagine this would happen to. To my knowledge everything was recovered from his fishing boat with the exception of his gas tanks. The hope is that he is floating on those tanks somewhere and will be found. The community at large continues to pray for the family’s strength during this immense time of difficulty.”

A RBDF spokesman confirmed that the man’s boat was found. He said a US Coast Guard helicopter and a defence force aircraft conducted an aerial search that was extended from the southern Abaco area and its surrounding cays, including Moore’s Island, to Great Sturrup cay and the Berry Islands.

In January 2018, a Bahamian sailor who was missing for two weeks was rescued by the United States Coast Guard from a boat taking on water off the coast of Florida.

Baha Mar lifeguard Samuel Leroy Moss Jr, 23, disappeared off the coast of Bimini on January 14, 2018 before being found two weeks later. He later told The Tribune his experience included fleeing wild hogs in Andros, being guided by dolphins in the Atlantic, and going hungry after his food supplies ran out.