By Katie Curley
Staff writer
June 27, 2009 12:15 am SALISBURY — Police say a witness has come forward with new details of Wednesday night's serious boat accident, indicating the boaters may have been drinking, then drove the boat straight at the jetty at high speed. That's in stark contrast to the statement the survivors told police — that the boat was slowly passing by the jetty when a swell washed it up onto it. Police are also crediting the missing and presumed drowned captain, Seth Coellner, 36, of Kensington, N.H., with calmly maintaining radio contact with authorities, a crucial action that helped save his three passengers. As of last night, rescuers had still not located Coellner. The former Coast Guardsman was last seen Wednesday night when the 36-foot Chris-Craft Corsair he was driving sank off the north jetty at the mouth of the Merrimack River. Local officials have been recovering the shattered remains of the hull. "We have new information," Salisbury police Chief David L'Esperance said. "Detective Sgt. Richard Merrill interviewed a fisherman who was on Plum Island and witnessed the accident." L'Esperance said the fisherman was angling off Plum Island in a stationary boat when he saw the boat carrying Coellner; Jacob Clark, 30, of Hampton, N.H.; Russell Hilliard, 50, of Hampton Falls, N.H.; and Mark Baillargeon, 50, of Newmarket, N.H., stop at the jetty. "The boat was near the jetty for 15 minutes. They were perhaps drinking," L'Esperance said. "All of a sudden, the boat went full throttle over the jetty like it was going to jump it." L'Esperance said the new information could get them closer to finding the last place the victim was seen. "We don't have an exact location of where the victim was," he said. No charges have been filed. Yesterday, L'Esperance hoped the recovery effort would continue at noon, but high waves and threats of thunderstorms kept divers on the shore. Coellner, who is married and the father of one small child, was a certified charter captain and had served in the Coast Guard for four years. He was most recently employed as a plumber. Calls to his wife, Siobhan Coellner, were not immediately returned last night. Newburyport police Senior Lt. Rick Siemasko yesterday recalled Coellner's 911 call to police, noting Coellner stayed on the phone as the boat he was driving sank, in an effort to give rescuers the location of the accident. "If not for him, the others had no chance," Siemasko said, noting divers had only about one-foot visibility at low tide Thursday, but had a better view at high tide. Still, Siemasko said the chances of finding a body in the strong currents were now slim. He pointed out that the boat split in two, with one end heading out to sea and the other upriver. On Thursday night, the Coast Guard called off its search for Coellner, turning the recovery effort over to local authorities. A criminal investigation remains in the hands of the Essex County District Attorney's office. "The Coast Guard is a life-saving organization," Petty Officer 3rd Class James Rhodes said. "We have called off our search completely." According to the statements that survivors of the accident gave to police, the boat was motoring slowly along the rocky jetty when a surge of water tipped the boat onto the jetty and threw them into the ocean. The boat's owner, Hilliard, managed to swim to the jetty, then went back into the water to help one of his friends to safety. Hilliard was taken into protective custody by police at the jetty for excessive alcohol consumption. A Coast Guard Jayhawk rescue helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod airlifted one person from the jetty, and Coast Guard rescue boats from Station Merrimack River rescued the other two people. Salisbury Harbormaster Ray Pike said yesterday the recovery effort for debris was called off Thursday evening and there is no telling if or when the body of Coellner will ever be recovered. "The current was going upstream when the accident happened," Pike said. "We found debris as far as number 15 (buoy). The suspicion is he flowed with the current. If he's on the bottom, it could be a lot slower and might not move that far from the boat." Pike said the mouth of the river is a dangerous place with only one light at the end of the jetty illuminating the area. "I've seen a boat 100-plus feet long hit the rocks and in one tide, turn into toothpicks," Pike said. "The boat in this accident was in two pieces; one on the bottom was just pieces of wood." A Chris-Craft Corsair is a luxury vessel capable of speeds up to 48 mph. New, base models cost almost $500,000. The state police handled the investigation of the boat debris. Steve O'Connell, spokesman for Essex County District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett, said the incident remains under investigation and no new information was available last night. Pike said the tidal surge can rip any boat to pieces in that area of the river. "It's a rough bar. If you're on the rocks, it's hard to get off, especially if there is a hole in the boat," Pike said. "It was too bad no one was wearing life jackets. In my experience with the Coast Guard and as harbormaster, I've never known someone to die or drown while wearing a life jacket." Pike said at the time of the accident, the jetty was visible above the water line, though fog could have been a problem for the boaters. "I have not seen any reports, but foggy conditions can make it a challenge; that's why ships carry radar," Pike said. "That is the strongest part of the current with the narrow area where the river is trying to get out."
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