Shipwreck, apparent human remains found 7 years after fishing boat sank off Rhode Island

A fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Rhode Island on New Year's Day in 2019 with three men aboard has likely been located, an oceanic protection non-profit said Tuesday. The investigation also found humans remains believed to belong to one of the two fishermen who died in the wreck.  

The F/V Mistress was a 52-foot commercial fishing vessel that sent out a distress call shortly after midnight on Jan. 1, 2019. Three men were aboard: Captain Oscar Diaz, his son Tim, and his nephew John Ansay. According to the distress call, the ship had hit rough weather near Block Island and began taking on water, local media reported. Another fishing boat in the area responded and found and rescued Tim Diaz. 

Oscar Diaz and John Ansay were not located, despite days of searching that crossed over 2,150 nautical miles and a Coast Guard investigation. The ship itself could also not be found — until this week. 

Green Oceans, a non-profit organization that works to protect oceans, sponsored an investigation to try and locate the wreck site. In July, a sonar scan identified a potential wreck site 92 feet underwater. Divers visited the site on August 30, and assessed the wreck. They documented numerous features on the wreck that matched the description of the F/V Mistress, according to a news release from the organization. 

A set of human remains were also found, Green Oceans said. 

The location and features of the ship have led the organization to believe the wreck is the F/V Mistress, Green Oceans said, although further study is necessary before a final determination. 

Green Oceans said it has asked the U.S. Department of the Interior to begin an interagency investigation into the wreck, including reopening the Coast Guard's investigation. 

The organization has also asked that federal authorities investigate if a wind farm on Block Island may have played a part in the wreck or the failure to rescue Oscar Diaz and John Ansay. 

The wreck is about 50 feet from a turbine in the Block Island Wind Farm, Green Oceans said. Block Island Wind Farm is the first offshore wind facility in the U.S. and has been operational since 2016. The wind farm, where turbines stand at 600 feet tall, is estimated to generate enough energy to power 17,000 homes. 

Dozens of studies looking at the facility's impact on wildlife and sea traffic have been conducted and found the wind farm to be generally safe. Federal approvals for the project described the wind farm's impact on navigation safety as minimal. 

Coast Guard records cited by Green Oceans list high winds, limited visibility and a proximity to wind turbines as factors that forced a helicopter to turn back. Green Oceans asked that the government investigate the search efforts and "provide public transparency" for all maintenance and monitoring at the turbine since the wreck occurred. 

"We hope this discovery provides answers and some measure of closure for the fishermen's families," said Michael Lombardi, the president of Green Oceans, in the news releasae. "We have provided the new evidence to federal authorities and requested that the wreck site be secured immediately for an appropriate forensic analysis."