As The Hours Pass, Hope Dims For Missing Fishermen

OCEAN COUNTY, NJ - Darkness has fallen and soon it will be more than 24 hours since anything has been heard from the crew of the fishing boat Queen Anne's Revenge.

Paul Matos, 30, Point Pleasant, and his crew member, Dennis Smalling, were aboard the 46-foot boat when one of them sent out a distress signal around 1:20 a.m. Thursday morning, according a report in nj.com.

"At this point, everybody has lost any hope that they'll be found alive -- it's been so long and the weather is cold, we're completely devastated," said Milene Oliveira, Matos' sister, in a telephone interview with nj.com.

"He was in the Navy (and) if there is a person who has extensive training with all of this, it's him -- which is why some of us are still holding on to some hope," she said.

The two left Point Pleasant late on Monday night, likely fishing for fluke or porgies. Local fishermen said other local boats would probably be out Thursday night to help the Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard was out searching the waters as of about 4:45 p.m. Thursday, according to Coast Guard spokesman Seth Johnson from the Coast Guard's Atlantic City station.

Matos and his girlfriend discussed the nasty weather conditions forecast for later in the week before he left. He promised he wouldn't stay out if things turned bad.

She last heard from him at 2:36 p.m. by email. He told her things were bad and they were going to head home.

Former crew member Eric Herner said he stopped working on the boat a few weeks because he was concerned about its seaworthiness. The boat was around 50 years old, according to the report.

The Coast Guard has asked any mariners who find possible debris from the boat to call its Sector Delaware Bay installation at 215-271-4940.

This is a developing story. Patch will update when more information is available.

Photo: Courtesy of U.S. Coast Guard