Scott A. Cluff was 64 years old when he was last known to be in Kennebunkport, Maine, on November 16, 2023. NamUs lists him as a White/Caucasian male with brown hair and brown eyes, approximately 6 feet 3 inches tall and 195 pounds, with the Kennebunkport Police Department identified as the investigating agency. The case record states that Mr. Cluff was last known to have gone lobstering at approximately 10:00 a.m.
in a 12-foot aluminum skiff and was believed to have launched from Turbat’s Creek.
That morning began as a working trip on familiar coastal waters. Reports from local and regional outlets said Mr. Cluff left the Turbats Creek boat ramp in Kennebunkport to haul lobster traps between Walker’s Point and Cape Porpoise. He was expected to return later that afternoon, around 3:00 p.m., but he did not come back to shore. By early evening, concern had grown, and the Coast Guard received a report at about 6:40 p.m. that a 64-year-old man in a small aluminum skiff had not returned to the Turbats Creek Road boat ramp as expected.
A search began that brought together the U.S. Coast Guard, Maine Marine Patrol, Kennebunkport Police Department, York County, the Cape Porpoise Harbormaster, and others. Search crews used major Coast Guard assets, including a 47-foot motor lifeboat from Portsmouth Harbor, an H-60 helicopter, an HC-144 fixed-wing aircraft from Cape Cod, and the Fast Response Cutter Maurice Jester. The search focused on the waters and shoreline around Walker’s Point and Cape Porpoise, the same area where Mr. Cluff had reportedly gone to work his traps.
By Friday morning, searchers had found signs that deepened the worry surrounding the case. Reports stated that Mr. Cluff’s skiff was found overturned on rocks at Walker’s Point, and debris was found along the shoreline, including a plastic tote, a life jacket, and a boot. Authorities said the evidence suggested he had likely gone into the water, but despite the discovery of the boat and belongings, there was no sign of Mr. Cluff himself.
The Coast Guard suspended its search on Friday evening after crews searched more than 700 square nautical miles. Captain Amy Florentino, commander of Coast Guard Sector Northern New England, described suspending the search for a family’s loved one as one of the hardest decisions she had to make and expressed sympathy for Mr. Cluff’s family and friends. The suspension of the Coast Guard search did not make the loss any less painful or the unanswered questions any easier for those who cared about him; it marked the point when the active large-scale search effort ended without finding him.
As reflected in the available public records and reports, Scott A. Cluff’s case remains the story of a Kennebunkport lobsterman who set out on November 16, 2023, in a small aluminum skiff from the Turbat’s Creek area, did not return as expected, and became the focus of an urgent coastal search after his absence was reported that evening. His boat and personal items were later found near Walker’s Point, but he was not located during the search. The case is documented by NamUs as Missing Person MP116041 and investigated by the Kennebunkport Police Department; no public case-resolution status of alive or deceased is listed in the provided case data. At its center, this is a case of a man last known to be doing familiar work on the water, a rapid multi-agency search across a wide stretch of Maine coastline, the discovery of his overturned skiff and debris, and the enduring uncertainty left for his family, friends, and community.Last Seen: Nov 16, 2023
