Missing at Sea
Missing North Carolina man’s boat washes ashore almost 3,000 miles away
June 28, 2022 12:38pm Updated
A boat belonging to missing North Carolina man, Joseph Johnson (pictured), has been located off the coast of Portugal.
The boat of a retired US Army Special Forces soldier who vanished seven months ago has washed ashore on the Azores Islands – nearly 3,000 miles across the Atlantic, police said.
The vessel belonging to Joseph Matthew Johnson, who was reported missing in November, was located last week on the island of São Jorge, about 1,000 miles off the coast of Portugal, police in North Carolina said Monday.
Johnson, 44, was not found, but Portuguese authorities contacted Carolina Beach police after his 2006 Clearwater fishing boat was recovered some 2,700 miles away from where it was last spotted.
“The investigation is ongoing and no additional information is available at this time,” police said in a statement.
Johnson’s 19-foot vessel showed evidence of capsizing and was covered with barnacles and algae, indicating it had been under water for “quite some time,” Carolina Beach police told the Wilmington Star-News.
Johnson, who was reported missing after not returning from a fishing trip with a friend, was last seen leaving Federal Point Yacht Club in Carolina Beach on Nov. 22, the newspaper reported.
Relatives believe Joseph Matthew Johnson will be found alive thanks to survival skills he learned while enlisted with US Army Special Forces.
Carolina Beach Police Department
Cellphone records showed activity on Johnson’s device later that day off the coast of North Carolina’s Bald Head Island. The US Coast Guard suspended its search for Johnson in November after covering nearly 7,500 square miles over 53 hours, according to the report.
Johnson’s mother said she believes her son – who served in the Army for 24 years, including tours in Afghanistan and South America – will be found alive thanks to survival skills he learned while enlisted.
“It’s not just hope,” Mary Kay Anderson told the newspaper. “We know he’s alive and are praying for his miraculous rescue … We’re getting close. He’s almost here, I can feel it.”
Joseph Johnson’s boat seen in an undated photo.
Johnson is 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighs 220 pounds, with strawberry blonde hair, police said. He was alone when he left the North Carolina marina and may have taken a handgun with him.
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that boat sure looks to be a lot bigger than 19ft.
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...He's sleeping with the fishes...
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Maybe married and wanting to get away to a small island . Article didn't say who the friend was that went fishing with him.
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No amount of survival training will get you through 7 months at sea with maybe a life jacket.
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Sam06: 30464830702491/comments/30464861719067
No amount of survival training will get you through 7 months at sea with maybe a life jacket.
That is what I was thinking, unless perhaps that small dingy on the back survived the capsizing and he was able to use it to find a habitable island. Then he may have a chance.
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I have a feeling this is the end of the story right here.
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Bermuda is the only island between the Carolinas and the Azores. Have flown that route many times. I'm afraid he did not survive.
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Wish is just that, 99.9999 % chance that he has passed and that is a bad way to go.
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Mother Nature has no pity.
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varian: 30464830702491/comments/30464877544859
that boat sure looks to be a lot bigger than 19ft.
Zackly what I’m thinkin
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According to local reports the friend canceled out and did not go . He was fishing by himself.
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He wanted to eat the fish.
Ironically, the fish ate him.
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Bermuda triangle got another one.
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Some like to push the limits in life. Some ex-military personnel like risky adventures and it makes them feel alive. May he rest in peace however.
serf
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Pretty obvious what happened It said in the article he had a handgun with him so that thing attacked him. It just some more gun violence.
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Not sure why some of you think the boat is bigger, The guy was 6'2" look at the picture and lay him down 3 times in your mind that's the size of the boat...
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The photo with him holding the Baracudda is probably the boat they are referring to, not the one where he is standing on the walkway.
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There are three different boats in the OP. The first pic, where he is holding the fish and there appears to be sailing tackle dangling over his head, and the second pic of the cabin cruiser and dinghy.
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