A dragger that sank near Falls Island in Cobscook Bay was located by the Maine State Police dive team on Thursday, January 20. The Miss Priss had sunk almost a year before -- on January 23, 2010, after hitting a submerged object. The three fishermen aboard, William Feltner Jr., Carl Sizemore and Evan Matthews, all of Lubec, were rescued just before the 36-foot vessel sank. They were picked up by Kirby Schenks of Machiasport, who had been dragging nearby, heard their distress call on the radio, and took his 14' skiff to the Miss Priss' location. Five minutes after he picked up the three fishermen, the vessel went down.
     The wreck is located a half mile west of Reversing Falls in Pembroke in 55 feet of water at mean low water. The boat was upside down, partly on its side, with the gear and cabin collapsed underneath.
     According to Maine Marine Patrol Sergeant Troy Dow, the dive team, which includes members of the Maine State Police and Maine Marine Patrol, searched that area because the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's hydrographic survey team had identified the location as a point of interest.
     The U.S. Coast Guard has sent out a marine broadcast about the location of the sunken vessel, as it could pose a danger to any vessels that might drag in the area. The area is not open for sea urchin or scallop dragging this scallop season or next but is expected to be reopened in July 2012. The site may later be marked with buoys. The coordinates of the location are 440 52.776'N, 670 08.403'W, or 0.25 nautical miles at 1270T from      Dram Island and 0.28 nautical miles at 2310T from Mahar Point.
     Dow says it will be up to the boat's owner, Dallas Huckins of Machiasport, whether a salvage effort will be undertaken.
     Dow adds that if the location of another object of interest is pinpointed then the dive team will return to help identify it. The sunken boat near Reversing Falls that was partially brought to the surface in December 2009 by the dive team and two draggers has not been located since then. Both the All American, which sank in March 2009 with the loss of two lives, and the Bottom Basher, which sank in October 2009, with three fishermen lost, have not been recovered. Other boats have also gone down in the area in previous years.
     In December and January partial human remains were recovered from the area by local fishermen, but they have not yet been positively identified by the State Medical Examiner’s Office.