One Dead, One Missing After Boating Accident Off Singing Beach

A boating accident off the Manchester coast Saturday afternoon left one man dead, another critically injured and a third missing, prompting an extensive search and rescue operation that drew vessels and personnel from across Cape Ann and the North Shore.

The boat involved in the accident is registered in Manchester, Harbormaster Bion Pike told The Cricket Sunday morning.  The vessel was recovered off the Manchester coast in the area between Black and White beaches and has been taken into custody by Massachusetts Environmental Police as authorities investigate what happened.

Exactly where the accident occurred remains uncertain. 

"No one knows for sure," Pike said.  There has been speculation that the accident occurred near Little Egg Rock, he said, but authorities have not established the location.

Just before 4:30 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 3, the U.S. Coast Guard received a report of a vessel in distress off Singing Beach, according to a joint statement from Essex County District Attorney Paul Tucker and Manchester Police Chief Mark McCoy.

Three men, ages 67, 65 and 37, and a dog were onboard the vessel.  Two of the men — the 67- and 65-year-olds — were located and transported to area hospitals.  The 67-year-old was later pronounced dead.  The 37-year-old remained missing.  The dog was recovered alive.

Authorities had not released the identities or home towns of the three men as of Sunday morning.

Pike said the initial report came through a 911 call, not a marine radio distress call.  The caller reported a boat in distress carrying three people and a dog and could see the dog aboard the vessel.  Pike received an alert about the call on his phone.

Who made the 911 call — someone on shore or aboard another boat — remains unclear.

The Coast Guard subsequently recovered the dog, Pike said, apparently from the vessel.

NBC10 Boston, reporting from a late-night briefing by Tucker and McCoy, identified the vessel as a 30-foot center-console fishing boat.  The 67-year-old was transported to Beverly Hospital, where he was pronounced dead, while the 65-year-old was flown by medical helicopter to Massachusetts General Hospital and was reported in critical condition.

Precisely what happened to the boat — and how its three occupants ended up in the water — remained under investigation Sunday.

Early reports attributed to the Coast Guard indicated that the vessel had struck rocks and was spinning out of control.   At a briefing later Saturday night, however, authorities offered a more cautious account, saying the initial report involved a boat taking on water and that investigators had not yet determined whether the vessel had struck rocks.

The conditions off the coastline between Gloucester and Manchester Harbor—which include Magnolia's Norman’s Woe, Black and White beaches, and Singing Beach in Manchester—are notoriously rocky and contain many hidden hazards, depending on the tide.  High tide on Saturday afternoon was 5:13 p.m.

Pike could not clarify the sequence Sunday morning, saying investigators do not yet know exactly where the incident occurred. 

An "all out effort"

What is clear is the scale of the response.

"This was an all out effort with every available asset," Pike said. "It showed a real commitment."

The official response included Coast Guard Station Gloucester and Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod; harbormasters from Manchester, Gloucester, Beverly, Salem and Boston; Massachusetts State Police; Gloucester Police; Beverly Fire Department and its dive team; and Massachusetts Environmental Police.

Pike said virtually every community along Cape Ann and the North Shore sent marine resources.

Manchester alone deployed three boats, he said. Gloucester sent boats, Salem sent two and Marblehead also sent a vessel. Beverly provided boats as well as a drone and drone operator.  A Massachusetts State Police drone was deployed, along with a state rescue helicopter.

Search teams are regrouping Sunday “with a different mix of assets” to continue the effort, Pike said.

The breadth of the response reflects the reality of marine emergencies, where minutes can matter and municipal boundaries quickly become irrelevant.

Pike credited the person who first reported seeing something wrong Saturday afternoon with getting that response underway.

"I guess I would just say it's because someone heard something, and then saw something, that they then said something that we were able to respond quickly," Pike said. "Always be vigilant. The sooner people reach out to the folks who can help, the sooner we can get help to the people who need it."

Not the first time …

Pike, who has served as Manchester's harbormaster for 13 years, said Saturday's emergency recalled other serious marine incidents during his tenure.

In May 2024, a boat was found against the rocky shoreline of Little Misery Island, between Manchester and Marblehead.  Its owner, 65-year-old Gloucester resident John Masiz, was missing from the vessel.  A multiagency search involving the Coast Guard and area harbormasters ultimately recovered Masiz's body later that night.  Even after investigation, the full view of the cause of that accident remained unclear.  

And in the summer of 2018, a boat carrying a group of people struck Half Tide Rock near Sandy Cove, causing serious injuries.  The accident was significant enough that then-Town Administrator Greg Federspiel cited it later that year while raising concerns about increasing boating traffic and safety along Manchester's shoreline.

"These incidents happen," Pike said.

His advice to anyone heading onto the water is straightforward.

"Take a safe boating class."

The search for the missing 37-year-old man remains active as of Sunday.  Authorities have not publicly disclosed the relationship among the three men, who was operating the vessel, whether the men were wearing personal flotation devices, or what caused them to enter the water.

The accident remains under investigation.