Search Suspended for Mother and Son Lost at Sea on Fishing Trip

BLOCK ISLAND, RI—The search for a Middletown, CT woman and her son who went missing while on a fishing trip last weekend has been suspended.

The U.S. Coast Guard said Friday that after a six-day search that spanned from the waters off Block Island all the way to to the canyons of New York, all efforts to find Linda Carman, 54, and her son, Nathan Carman, 22, have been exhausted.

The Coast Guard searched more than 62,000 square nautical miles for any sign of the missing family members and their vessel, the 31-foot center console Chicken Pox.

The Coast Guard was joined by agencies up and down the east coast in the search, which utilized Coast Guard cutters, helicopters, air sentry aircraft and other vessels.

The Carmans left Ram's Point Marina in Point Judith on Saturday night.

Anyone with information about Nathan Carmen and Linda Carman or their missing vessel are urged to call Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England's Command Center at 508-457-3211.

Earlier this week, fishermen near Block Island found a marine deck box cover, a pillowcase and empty engine coolant containers but they were not immediately connected to the missing vessel.

Monty Monterio, a longtime friend of Linda Carman, told NBC 10 News earlier in the week that he hasn’t heard from her since Saturday. Monterio also told NBC News 10 that Linda and Nathan were going to try a new spot and told him she “doesn't know how to use the equipment on board” because Nathan typically operates the vessel.

Nathan, who is autistic, was the subject of a massive search in 2011 after he went missing upon the loss of a horse. He was eventually found in Virginia at a bus station.

Photo courtesy: U.S. Coast Guard