Coast Guard suspends search for crew

The Coast Guard on Monday suspended its search for four fishermen missing off Nantucket, saying rescuers had exhausted all chances of finding them after their boat had been found submerged 11 miles from land.

The 75-foot Lady of Grace was expected in New Bedford early Saturday but the crew had not been heard from since late Friday in stormy weather. The water temperature Monday in the region south of Cape Cod was just 35 degrees.

"It is beyond probable, beyond possible that they could still be viable and have survived at this point," Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Pat Cook said in a statement Monday.

On Sunday, underwater cameras and sonar detected a sunken boat, 11 nautical miles from Nantucket Island, and divers positively identified it as the Lady of Grace.

The boat was lying on its side, 36 feet beneath the surface, and its inflatable life raft was still in its case and attached to the boat, the Coast Guard said.

The cause of the sinking had not been determined. At the time the boat went missing, the wind was blowing at about 30 to 35 mph with 8 to 10 foot waves, the Coast Guard said.

The Lady of Grace was owned by Santos Fishing Corp. of New Bedford.

The men were identified as the captain, Antonio Barroqueiro, and crew members Rogerio Vendura, Mario Farinha and Joao Silva. Barroqueiro was from Fairhaven; hometowns of the others were not released.