The bodies of Shawn Arsenault, 64, and his girlfriend Felicia Daley, 54, were found Wednesday, June 11, aboard their sunken fishing boat in Cape Cod Bay, Massachusetts, ending a three-day search that began when the couple failed to return from a clamming expedition.
The 30-foot, white-hulled vessel Seahorse departed Rock Harbor in Orleans, Massachusetts on Sunday morning, June 8, with plans to fish near the Target Ship Wreck off Eastham. Arsenault told his brother Paul that he would not return until he had caught his 30-bag limit of clams, which typically takes only one day to accomplish.
The couple was reported missing Tuesday morning when Orleans harbormaster Nathan Sears noticed Arsenault’s white Ford pickup truck remained in the marina parking lot two days after their departure. The Coast Guard immediately launched an extensive search operation across Cape Cod Bay.
A recreational boater discovered the sunken Seahorse around 2:00 p.m. Wednesday in approximately 25 feet of water near Brewster beaches, about five miles from Eastham. The Coast Guard cutter William Sparling arrived at the scene within 30 minutes, followed by divers from the Massachusetts Environmental Police and Massachusetts State Police who recovered the bodies from inside the vessel’s wheelhouse.
Paul Arsenault indicated the couple was found without life jackets and had not made any distress calls before the incident occurred. He suspects his brother’s boat became entangled with underwater wreckage, causing it to take on water rapidly. Paul Arsenault believes that the incident “happened so fast” that neither victim had time to contact emergency services.
The search was complicated by conflicting location data. While the Seahorse was known to fish near the Target Ship Wreck off Eastham, a cellphone ping last placed the vessel approximately two miles offshore from Chatham, roughly 15 miles away. Coast Guard spokesman Quinn LeCain explained that search crews were deployed to both areas because phone pings have a high degree of variability.
Strange circumstances surrounded the couple’s departure on Sunday morning. Multiple witnesses reported seeing Arsenault throwing electronic equipment overboard shortly after leaving the harbor.
Among the discarded items was a GPS unit that resident Sam Miller and her father discovered Sunday morning while walking on a nearby beach. The device bore blue tape labeled “F/V Seahorse,” matching the missing vessel. Miller and her father left the GPS with a note on Arsenault’s truck at the marina, but when the vehicle remained untouched the following day, they contacted the harbormaster, who alerted the Coast Guard.
Shawn Arsenault had recently invested significant money in upgrading the Seahorse with new radar and fish-finding equipment. His brother Paul indicated that owning the boat represented Shawn’s lifelong dream after six years of saving money for the purchase. Sunday’s fatal trip marked only the third time he had taken the vessel out on the water.
Charter operator Hap Farrell expressed concerns about the vessel’s stability, describing it as having a round hull design with equipment positioned high on the boat. He suggested this configuration could have caused the vessel to roll over quickly if it became entangled while dragging clam-harvesting equipment behind it, particularly when fishing in dark conditions.
Orleans harbormaster Sears noted that Arsenault’s boat had recently experienced mechanical problems but appeared to be running properly after repairs. The harbormaster explained that quahog draggers like the Seahorse drag large steel cages behind their vessels, which can cause boats to roll and sink rapidly if the equipment becomes hung up on the ocean bottom.
Family members described both victims as experienced boaters. Arsenault and Daley had been dating for several months, with Paul Arsenault characterizing them as being “absolutely nuts about each other.” Shawn Arsenault had worked on fishing vessels throughout his life, operating boats from New Bedford to Provincetown.
Community members remembered Arsenault as a generous person who regularly helped neighbors in need. Paul Arsenault shared that his brother cooked dinner every night for an elderly man with Parkinson’s disease, walking the meals to his home. Friends described Shawn as someone with a distinctively loud voice who was known for telling jokes and bringing laughter to those around him.
Daley’s friend Scott Amerault remembered her as a loyal companion, stating that “if you had her as a friend, you had a good friend.” The couple’s deaths have left a significant impact on the Cape Cod fishing community.
The Coast Guard has launched an investigation to determine the exact circumstances that led to the vessel’s sinking. Officials expressed gratitude for the assistance provided by recreational boaters and local fishing community members during the search operation. Weather conditions were not considered a factor in the disappearance, though fog and thunderstorms hampered search efforts on Tuesday.
