In the pre-dawn hours of New Year's Day 2019, a tragedy began to unfold in the waters off the coast of Rhode Island. At approximately 1:30 a.m., Oscar Diaz, the 52-year-old captain and owner of the fishing vessel MISTRESS, made a distress call. His boat was taking on water near the Block Island Wind Farm. On board with him were his son, Tim Diaz, and his nephew, John Ansay. The F/V CAPTAIN BLIGH was nearby and responded to the mayday, managing to rescue Tim Diaz from a life raft.
The crew of the responding vessel reported that the MISTRESS had capsized and sunk, leaving Oscar Diaz and John Ansay missing in the turbulent sea.
An extensive search and rescue operation was immediately launched by the U.S. Coast Guard. However, the initial efforts were severely hampered by treacherous weather conditions, including low visibility and rough seas with 10-foot waves and winds of 30 to 35 knots. As conditions improved, the search expanded, ultimately involving seven Coast Guard resources, including helicopters, aircraft, and boats, covering over 375 square nautical miles. Despite these exhaustive efforts that continued for nearly 72 hours and spanned an area of 2,152 square miles, there was no sign of Captain Diaz or his nephew. It remains unknown if the two men were able to don their survival suits before the vessel went down. The Coast Guard eventually made the difficult decision to suspend the official search at 5:13 p.m. on Wednesday, January 2nd.
The sole survivor, Tim Diaz, was described as being emotionally and physically spent after the ordeal, expressing both relief at his rescue and profound sorrow for being the only one to make it back. In the weeks that followed the sinking, the tight-knit fishing community mourned the loss of two of their own. Later in January, it was reported that the sunken wreckage of the MISTRESS had been located on the sea floor, not far from where the search had been concentrated. The discovery brought a somber confirmation to the families and the community. The case of Oscar Diaz is an unfortunate reminder of the inherent dangers faced by those who make their living from the sea. He was the captain of the fishing vessel MISTRESS and was reported to have gone down with his ship, a devoted fisherman lost to the very waters that were his livelihood.Last Seen: Jan 1, 2019
