Planes to Use Radar in Hunt for Missing Trawler

Boston Daily Globe Jan 16, 1947

With the search for the trawler Belle hampered by murky weather, the fate of the Boston fishing vessel which has been missing with a crew of 17 and 60,000 pounds of fish since Jan. 9, remained a mystery today.

While the wives and 24 children of six members of the Greater Boston crew hopefully maintain their long vigil, Coast Guard planes which covered 6000 miles in search of the missing 131-foot trawler before nasty weather set in, today prepared to renew the quest with radar-equipped Navy aircraft as soon as the ceiling clears.

The missing ship, last heard from Jan. 9, when her captain radioed that her engines were disabled and that she was at the mercy of the sea 100 miles east of Boston, is believed vy the Coast Guard to hve been swept far off that position by foul weather.

Waterfront sources, however, said the sturdy craft should have little trouble remaining afloat, but expressed some concern over the weight of ice that might cake the ship as a result of the weather.

Meanwhile United STates and Canadian Coast Guard cutters continue to hunt for the vessel, which has been at sea since Dec. 31. She was bound for Boston from the fishing banks when she became disabled.

The Belle was provisioned with a month's supply of food and water when she sailed.

This morning while nearing Boston, the Cosat Guard cutter Bibb, returning from weather station duty in the North Atlantic, radioed that it had been unable to locate the Belle in areas searched during the return trip.