Baruch Aaron Roberts was reported missing after leaving from Friendship, Maine, for what was described as a kayaking trip of a couple of days. NamUs lists him as a White/Caucasian male, 78 years old at the time he went missing, with gray or partially gray thinning hair, blue eyes, and a white beard. He was about 5 feet 10 inches tall and weighed approximately 150 pounds. The identifying details recorded for him included scars on his legs from a chainsaw accident, and the clothing associated with his disappearance included khaki cotton shorts, a button-down cotton shirt, white socks, sneakers, a ball cap, and generic reading glasses. His last known location was Friendship in Knox County, along Maine’s midcoast, and the official NamUs case remains published as Missing Person / NamUs #MP59117.
Roberts was last seen on July 21, 2019, near Friendship. Local reporting at the time said he was from Thomaston and that his empty kayak was discovered in Muscongus Bay, near Allen Island, after he had told relatives he was going camping. The discovery of the kayak shifted what may have begun as an expected outdoor trip into an urgent search. PenBay Pilot reported that the kayak had one of the Coast Guard’s “If found” stickers on it with contact information filled out, allowing the Coast Guard to call the listed number and reach Roberts’ daughter, who did not yet know he was missing. That small safety measure helped authorities connect the found kayak to Roberts quickly and begin searching for him.
The search focused on the waters and shoreline around Allen Island, a private island near the southeastern end of Muscongus Bay, roughly between the St. George area and Monhegan Island. Coast Guard crews from Boothbay Harbor, the 110-foot Cutter Ocracoke, and an MH-60 helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod were reported to have assisted. Central Maine reported that the Coast Guard joined the search on July 22, 2019, and continued through the night; dozens of Coast Guard members, Maine Marine Patrol personnel, Friendship Fire Department members, and good Samaritans searched the shoreline and ocean. The same report said Roberts’ empty kayak had been found floating about a half mile west of Allen Island.
There were early details that made the search especially difficult and painful for those hoping to find him. PenBay Pilot reported that a Coast Guard spokesman said “all indications” suggested the kayak had not capsized, while NamUs later recorded the kayak as having been located overturned near Allen Island on July 22, 2019. Those differences in wording reflect the limited and evolving information available in the first days after Roberts vanished. What is consistent across the public sources is that Roberts left for a kayaking or camping outing, his kayak was found without him, and no public source located here reports a confirmed recovery or resolution.
By the evening of July 23, 2019, the U.S. Coast Guard suspended its active search pending further developments. Central Maine reported that the suspension meant the Coast Guard search would not resume unless something emerged that warranted further investigation. PenBay Pilot reported that Maine Marine Patrol intended to keep searching near Allen Island by water and air through the end of that week before determining the next steps. The investigating agency listed by NamUs is the Maine Marine Patrol in Augusta, with the agency case number 19M009188 and a reported date of July 22, 2019.
The case of Baruch Roberts remains a deeply somber maritime disappearance: an older man set out from Friendship for time on the water, his kayak was found near Allen Island, and a coordinated search followed across Muscongus Bay by air, boat, shoreline teams, Marine Patrol, local responders, and community members. The available public record does not state that he was found alive or recovered deceased, and the case-resolution field provided does not identify a closure. In overview, Roberts’ disappearance began with a planned kayaking trip from Friendship on July 21, 2019, became an emergency after his kayak was found near Allen Island the next day, led to an extensive Coast Guard and Maine Marine Patrol search, and remains publicly documented as a missing-person case centered on the waters off midcoast Maine.
Last Seen: Jul 21, 2019
