Drone search Saturday unable to locate missing Island fisherman

The official search for a P.E.I. fisherman who went overboard off the North Shore wasmostly done by RCMP drone Saturday.

Jordan Hicken was lost while fishing out of Naufrage Harbour early Tuesday morning. The rescue effort was called off Tuesday evening and RCMP took it over as a missing persons case.

TwoRCMP drone operators went out in the morning and the afternoon to survey the same area they have been scanning over for the past few days, from Naufrage Harbour to the Greenwich area, said RCMP Staff Sgt. Howard Fitzpatrick.

"They weren't able to find anything today, and the same thing this afternoon when the other drone operator went out."

Fitzpatrick said the visibility in the water wasquite good Saturdayfor drones.

Better weather for searching

Rough waters hampered the search Wednesday and into Thursday morning, but RCMP were able to get a dive team out in the afternoon and evening.

The RCMP dive team was in the water and searching into Friday evening as well, Fitzpatrick said.

Some of what is believed to be Hicken's clothing was found in the water Tuesday afternoon.

With clear weatherSaturday Fitzpatrick said he was hoping to find closure for the family, but after searching the shoreline the drone operators saw no sign of Hicken.

"We're hoping for better results tomorrow."

P.E.I. Ground Search and Rescue took the day off Friday and Saturdaybut plan to returnSunday.

"We'll be covering all the coastline again and even expanding out search area a little bit. Hopefully, we will have some better results tomorrow," Fitzpatrick said.

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