March 3, 2026 — More than a month after the 72-foot groundfish vessel Lily Jean sank 25 miles off Cape Ann, state and federal investigators are still working to determine what caused the loss of the Gloucester-based vessel and all seven people aboard.
The boat sank Jan. 30 without issuing a distress or mayday call. An EPIRB signal alerted the U.S. Coast Guard at approximately 6:50 a.m., prompting a massive air and sea search effort. Crews searched roughly 1,047 square miles in punishing winter conditions- air temperatures near 6 degrees Fahrenheit, wind chills below zero and water temperatures around 40 degrees.
Responders located one unresponsive individual from the water and located a deployed but unoccupied life raft. No additional survivors were found, and the Coast Guard suspended its search the following day.
“All reasonable search efforts for the missing crewmembers had been exhausted,” said Capt. Jamie Frederick, commander of Coast Guard Sector Boston, at the time.