THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, October 1, 1995 TAG: 9510010032
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B7 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PORTSMOUTH LENGTH: Short : 39 lines
The body of one of two Portsmouth men who were reported missing after a fishing trip Friday was found Saturday, the Coast Guard said.
The body of Robert Earl Barlow, 56, of the first block of Oregon Ave., was found just before noon at the northwest corner of Craney Island, the Coast Guard said. The cause of death is unknown.
The search for the other man, identified as Joe Britt, believed to be 70, of the first block of May St., will resume today with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission coordinating the effort.
The pair were reported missing about 8:30 a.m. Saturday after they failed to return as scheduled from a fishing trip at 8 p.m. Friday.
The Coast Guard launched a helicopter from Elizabeth City and a Coast Guard Auxiliary plane joined the search.
Local police and boats from the Virginia Marine Resources Commission assisted in the search.
At 10:19 a.m., the plane's crew spotted the missing 18-foot boat capsized and ashore at Craney Island, east of the Monitor-Merrimac Bridge Tunnel linking Newport News and Suffolk.
At 11:37 a.m., the helicopter crew spotted Barlow's body not far from where the boat had been spotted.
Portsmouth police divers searched around the area where the boat was found, but were unable to locate the other man's body.
There was no indication of what went wrong or why the boat overturned.
The incident is under investigation by the Department of Game and Inland Fisheries and Portsmouth Police.
KEYWORDS: ACCIDENT GENERAL ACCIDENT BOAT by CNB