Two people were found dead Thursday evening after their capsized vessel was located near the west break wall in New Haven Harbor, Connecticut, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.
The vessel had been reported overdue earlier in the day, after a concerned individual contacted the Sector Long Island Sound Command Center. The two individuals were believed to be missing following a boat trip between Stratford and Norwalk on the night of July 9.
Authorities located the overturned vessel Thursday afternoon on the break wall. A Connecticut State Police dive team later recovered two unresponsive individuals from the water. They were transported to the West Shore Fire District’s firehouse in West Haven and were pronounced dead by the Connecticut Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.
Reservation records at a New Haven restaurant showed the individuals had booked a table on the evening of July 9, and nearby marina surveillance footage confirmed they had boarded the vessel. A cell phone belonging to one of the individuals pinged near the west break wall at 9:40 p.m. that night.
Search efforts included multiple agencies, with an HC-144 fixed-wing aircraft from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod conducting extensive aerial sweeps.
The Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Environmental Conservation Police is leading the investigation into the cause of the incident.