Deadly Seven-Year Mystery Located

Yellow triangular warning sign with exclamation mark on black background — DEADLY MYSTERY

Divers say they found the long-missing fishing boat F/V Mistress and apparent human remains just 50 feet from a Block Island wind turbine.

At a Glance

Private divers located a wreck in 92 feet of water near a Block Island turbine base.
Investigators reported features matching the F/V Mistress, lost on January 1, 2019.
Apparent human remains were documented at the site, pending formal identification.
Green Oceans asked the Interior Department to coordinate a new interagency probe and reopen the Coast Guard case.

A missing vessel surfaces beside a turbine

Green Oceans, an ocean advocacy group, funded a dive survey that located a wreck believed to be the F/V Mistress in about 92 feet of water near the Block Island Wind Farm. The group said the wreck lies roughly 50 feet from Turbine #1’s base.

The discovery follows a seven-year search gap after the boat vanished on New Year’s Day 2019 with three aboard. Divers reported structural details that aligned with the boat’s known features, and they documented apparent human remains at the site.

The timing and placement raise fresh safety questions for working fishermen who operate in and around turbine fields. Green Oceans asked the United States Department of the Interior to coordinate an interagency review.

The group specifically requested that the United States Coast Guard reopen its marine-casualty investigation and that federal officials assess whether wind farm proximity affected the loss or the rescue response that followed the distress call.

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. https://t.co/ktDJj5eA9T

— CBS News (@CBSNews) September 23, 2026

What happened on New Year’s Day 2019

The F/V Mistress sent a distress call shortly after midnight on January 1, 2019. The vessel then sank off Rhode Island. Two crewmen were never recovered, and the Coast Guard eventually closed the case, classifying the vessel and crew as lost.

Search teams did not locate the hull during the original effort. Reports now state a privately funded underwater team found a wreck that appears to be the missing boat, filling the key gap that had lingered for years.

Local coverage confirms the discovery came from a private mission rather than a routine government search. That distinction matters, because it helps explain why the new team looked so near the turbines. Private backers often chase leads that big agencies set aside.

That does not make the evidence weaker by itself. It shows how maritime cases can turn on one well-aimed survey run after the official file goes quiet.

Remains, identity, and the path to answers

Divers reported a set of human remains at the wreck site. Authorities will need forensic work to confirm identity and cause of death. Families deserve that clarity, and the science can deliver it.

Forensic teams can confirm whether remains are human, extract DNA, and compare it with family references. Even in cold salt water, identification has worked in older cases. That process takes time and custody care from the water to the lab to the final match.

F/V MISTRESS Shipwreck ‘Lost’ Near Block Island Located After Seven Yearshttps://t.co/ndLVSFdQZi @GreenOceansRI @WSJ @nypost @FoxNews @BBC @guardian @fishstewardship @ACKCurrent @TheStonesEG @mtkblb @njcoast_protect @Orsted @BITimes @thy_back_door @projo @NewBedfordLight

— Charlotte Licholai (@MrsLicholai) September 22, 2026

Officials can also use the hull to lock down the vessel’s identity. Inspectors can measure the wreck, map equipment, and compare photos to registry records. That work can draw on diver video, sonar scans, and 3D models to reach a firm match.

If the wreck is confirmed as the Mistress, investigators can study damage patterns and seabed marks to piece together the last minutes. That will not relive the 2019 search. It can, however, guide safer routes and smarter response in turbine zones.

Why the location matters for mariners

The wreck’s reported location beside a turbine foundation puts seamanship and energy policy on the same chart. Offshore wind sites can add obstacles, traffic, and safety buffers that change how boats fish and how rescuers move.

Nations often set safety zones around such structures for that reason. The United States framework allows safety zones as well. Good policy should keep working boats safe while keeping lights on at home. That balance starts with facts from the seabed.

What a reopened case should test

A reopened Coast Guard case should follow three tracks. First, confirm the identity of the wreck and any remains with transparent forensics. Second, reconstruct the loss with hull evidence, weather, and traffic data.

Third, review how the wind farm’s layout, maintenance runs, and safety zones interacted with fishing patterns and rescue access. That approach respects families, backs law with data, and keeps politics out of the wheelhouse until the evidence speaks.