SALEM — A 65-year-old man died over the weekend while boating through Salem Harbor, according to authorities. The circumstances that led to his death remain an active investigation.
The fatality surrounds a boating accident that took place late Saturday afternoon within Salem Sound, where a boat was reported to be crashed on the rocks of Misery Island just after 5 p.m. A multi-agency search located a body separate from the boat, several hours later, at 10:15 p.m., according to Beverly Harbormaster Peter Dickman.
The vessel was “still in gear, indicating apparent operation when it struck the island,” he said. “Through eyewitness statements at a local marina, it was learned that the vessel was solo-operated when it left shore.”
Salem Harbormaster Bill McHugh said the vessel was en-route from Danversport to the inner Gloucester Harbor when “for whatever reason…the owner became separated with the vessel.
“At about five o’clock Saturday afternoon, we had a report of a boat on the rocks on the east side of Misery Island,” McHugh said.
The search was aided by crews from Beverly, Danvers, Manchester-by-the-Sea, Marblehead, and Salem, as well as the Massachusetts State Police, Coast Guard and Environmental Police, he said.
“The harbormasters immediately began doing a search pattern once I was able to gain access to the boat to verify there was no one on board,” McHugh said. “We treated it as a man overboard from the beginning, but needed to rule out the individual hadn’t suffered an injury and was on-board.”
Officials are presently withholding the identity of the victim, pending notification to his family. He was described as an experienced boater, suggesting the situation was “definitely an accident,” McHugh said.
The boat, a recreational vessel named The Talisman, later broke apart with the passing of tides and is being collected as salvage at Winter Island.
The investigation now also includes the medical examiner’s office, which will determine the cause of death, according to McHugh.
“The investigation does continue,” he said. “We don’t know why the person was separated from the boat.”
Contact Dustin Luca at 978-338-2523 or DLuca@salemnews.com. Follow him at facebook.com/dustinluca or on Twitter @DustinLucaSN.