In the pre-dawn hours of New Year’s Day 2019, 52-year-old captain and owner of the fishing vessel MISTRESS, Oscar Diaz, made a distress call when his boat began taking on water near the Block Island Wind Farm. On board were his son Tim Diaz and nephew John Ansay. The F/V CAPTAIN BLIGH responded and rescued Tim from a life raft; the MISTRESS reportedly capsized and sank, and Oscar Diaz and John Ansay were missing.

A large U.S. Coast Guard search followed, hampered initially by 10-foot seas, 30 to 35-knot winds and low visibility. As conditions improved, seven Coast Guard resources covered over 375 square nautical miles, and the combined search covered about 2,152 square miles across nearly 72 hours before the Coast Guard suspended the official search at 5:13 p.m. on January 2. Weeks later the sunken wreckage of the MISTRESS was located on the sea floor near the search area.

Reports say it is unknown whether Diaz and Ansay had time to don survival suits before the vessel went down. If anyone knew Oscar, his movements that night, or has information about the sinking, please share what is known.