THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, January 9, 1995 TAG: 9501090053
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: PROVIDENCE JOURNAL-BULLETIN
DATELINE: NEWPORT, R.I. LENGTH: Medium: 51 lines
Two crewmen of a Norfolk scallop boat drowned in Newport Harbor early Sunday, apparently when one fell into the water and the other dived in to save him after the two returned to the berthed vessel from an evening of drinking, police said.
Police identified the victims as Wayne D. Atherton, 31, of Richmond, and Jorge Dominguez of Cheriton.
Police are awaiting a report from the state medical examiner's office, but they said there was no evidence the deaths were other than accidental drowning.
Atherton and Dominguez were among seven crew members aboard the scalloper Carolyn Grace when the 100-foot vessel tied up in Newport Harbor early Friday, said Detective Kevin Sullivan.
Saturday afternoon, Sullivan said, the ship's captain, Stephen P. Baletti, distributed bonus money to the crew, and Atherton and Dominguez left the vessel.
The two returned later with liquor and new clothing, Sullivan said, and left the vessel again about 8 p.m. It was the last time the other crew members saw them alive, police said.
About 5:30 a.m., police said, an employee of Parascondolo Wharf found a pair of pants and a pair of boots on the wharf but thought nothing of it.
It was not until about 8:30 a.m. that the scalloper's other crew members - including Atherton's brother, Allen - realized that Atherton and Dominguez had not reported back, and they began looking, police said.
Crew members noticed the discarded clothing on the wharf - and then saw Wayne Atherton's body floating near the Carolyn Grace.
Dominguez's body was recovered about two hours later by divers from the Middletown Fire Department.
Sullivan said Atherton probably fell into the water and Dominguez shed his trousers and boots and leaped in after him. ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS
Firefighters recover the body of Jorge Dominguez of Cheriton from
the harbor in Newport, R.I., on Sunday. Dominguez and Wayne D.
Atherton, crew members on the scallop boat Carolyn Grace, drowned
early Sunday.
KEYWORDS: DROWNING by CNB