Debris Found in Search for Sunken Fishing Boat off NJ

The Coast Guard says debris has been recovered off the coast of New Jersey during a search for a fishing boat seen sinking earlier in the day. 

New Jersey State Police, the lead agency in the case, found the debris, which may be from the vessel, identified as a 40-foot fishing trawler named El Jefe. Police suspended their water search shortly before 10 p.m. and plan to resume in the morning.

An NYPD dive team has been using their side-scan sonar to try to find a vessel in the Sandy Hook Channel.  

The Coast Guard said earlier it received a "reliable and credible" report from eyewitnesses who claimed to have seen the trawler sinking into the water at about 4:30 p.m., about 1 to 2 miles off the Sandy Hook peninsula. 

Two young fishermen told NBC 4 New York they witnessed the sinking boat.  

"We saw a boat come in from the right side of us, coming to the left, and we saw it going down. Then it was gone," said Chris Festa.

"It was really scary but there was nothing we could really do," said Thomas Rodgers. 

The Coast Guard launched a search, along with the NYPD harbor and aviation units, the FDNY's harbor unit and New Jersey State Police.

The area is a shipping channel, and the depth average is about 50 feet. Because it's a channel, the water can go from four feet to 60 feet in a short distance, authorities said. 

The Coast Guard said it had not received any reports of missing vessels in the area and had no intelligence to confirm there were people on board until witnesses contacted authorities. 

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