On May 8, 2008, 27-year-old Joshua Daniel Hartman and his fiancée, Ana Martin, 30, were last seen departing from Oceanside Harbor, California, for a fishing trip. The couple left at approximately 7:30 a.m. aboard Hartman's 32-foot fishing boat, "The Pelican". Hartman, a commercial fisherman described as a skilled sea captain, and Martin were scheduled to return by 3:00 p.m. that same day.
The last known contact with the couple occurred around 3:30 p.m. when Hartman called a friend or his brother to say the fishing was going well and that they would be docking in about an hour. Another fisherman had also seen the couple in a popular fishing area about six miles from shore around noon and they had been in sporadic radio contact with another boat throughout the early afternoon. When they failed to return to the harbor and calls to their cell phones went unanswered, Hartman's father and brother reported them missing at 8:00 p.m.
A search was launched by the U.S. Coast Guard, involving a helicopter and a C-130 aircraft. The following morning, on May 9, 2008, the abandoned "Pelican" was found aground on a beach just north of Rosarito, Mexico, a resort town south of Tijuana. The keys were still in the ignition, and there were no signs of a struggle or violence on the boat. The ocean conditions at the time of their disappearance included one to two-foot swells and a water temperature of 63 degrees.
Despite search efforts by both the U.S. Coast Guard and the Mexican Navy, Hartman and Martin were never found. The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search after a few days, stating that it was unlikely anyone could survive for more than 12 hours in the 63-degree water, even with a survival suit. The case is considered a missing persons investigation. Joshua Daniel Hartman was described as a White male with brown hair and blue eyes, 5'10" tall, and weighing 170 pounds.
Last Seen: May 08, 2008
