Coast Guard suspends search for Timothy “Pirate Daddy” Henderson
SOMERSET COUNTY, Md. – Timothy Henderson, affectionately known as “Pirate Daddy” was last seen taking out a jon boat on Sunday evening.
“That next morning of the 25th, when we woke up, we went to go wake him so we could all go out to do the oyster harvest and he wasn’t there,” said Virginia Williams, an owner of Salty Bottom Blue Oyster Company.
Henderson had been staying with Williams and her fiancé on Gwynn Island for about two months, when, on the evening of November 24th, he went out on the water without telling anyone and never returned.
“The boat he’d taken out wasn’t a real stable, like, not a seaworthy boat. It’s like ten foot jon boat and maybe only 30 inches wide. And he had like a little 3.7 horsepower outboard on it. It wasn’t the best engine to use.”
Williams said she alerted authorities, leading to search efforts from the Coast Guard, Virginia Marine Resource Commission, and other agencies.
They began on the west side of the bay where his cell-phone last pinged a tower. On Tuesday, the search expanded to Tangier Island and the coast of Crisfield: “With all the winds coming out of the south, it would blow northbound. So I definitely feel like there’s a chance he could end up on the Eastern Shore or even just stranded on any of the little islands.”
At 1:26PM on Tuesday the Coast Guard suspended their search for Henderson. It covered 601 nautical miles over the course of 52.5 hours.
On that decision, USCG said in a statement to WMDT: “This decision was not made lightly, and our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. In situations like this, the decision to suspend a search is a difficult one, and is based on a combination of factors, including time since the initial distress call, prevailing environmental conditions, and modeling combined with the aggregate search effort. While the search is suspended, we remain ready to respond if new information or developments occur. We continue to urge anyone with information to contact the Coast Guard at 757-638-6637.”
Williams said that doesn’t mean no one is looking for him. “I’ve had a lot of people messaging me that either they’re going to go boating the next few days, they’ll keep their eyes out. I had someone this morning say that her and her husband have a small plane and that they were going to plan to go out, look for him.”
