Last Saturday, February 1, at 8:45 p.m., the National Maritime Authority was alerted to the disappearance of a 34-year-old fisherman on the island of Santa Maria. On Saturday night, one of the fisherman’s relatives went to the PSP police station and reported that the man had left home on Friday at around midnight with a fishing rod and had not returned from his fishing activity. That same night, searches were carried out in the Vila do Porto port area, which, according to the local commander of the Maritime Police and the Vila do Porto Captaincy, Marques Peiriço, was “where he usually went fishing.”

Searches resumed in the land and sea area between Ponta do Marvão and Prainha. The search operations, coordinated by the Port Captain and Local Commander of the Vila do Porto Maritime Police, are being carried out by members of the Local Command of the Maritime Police and the Port Captaincy of Vila do Porto, the Santa Maria Volunteer Fire Brigade and a Portuguese Navy ship – the NRP António Enes. A Portuguese Air Force helicopter is also taking part in the search operations.

On Monday, the search continued with the same resources and will continue until the end of the day. Commander Marques Peiriço indicates that a reassessment will depend on the daily development of the search.

Translated to English as a community outreach program from the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL) as part of Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno, PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.