Recovery near Gale’s Ledge
Recovery teams pulled a body from the water near Gale’s Ledge shortly after 11 a.m. Sunday.
Investigators examining the waters off Manchester-by-the-Sea recovered the body over the weekend. They believe it belongs to a man who vanished following a fatal boat crash earlier this month, according to the Boston Globe.
The discovery brings a grim potential development to an accident that rattled the coastal community weeks ago. Officials from Essex District Attorney Paul F. Tucker’s office made the announcement following the operation.
The October 3 tragedy
Gale’s Ledge sits just a short distance from Singing Beach.
On October 3, that stretch of coastline became the site of a violent wreck when a vessel struck rocks and spun wildly out of control. The crash left one man dead, another injured, and a third—identified as 37-year-old James Wolcott of Hamilton—missing.
The October 3 incident unfolded late in the afternoon. Before 4:30 p.m., Coast Guard Sector Boston watchstanders received alarming reports of a boat moving in slow circles off Singing Beach with no visible passengers aboard. On board that vessel, responders found a living dog, which was later safely reunited with its family.
The two other human occupants of the boat were pulled from the water and rushed to area hospitals. Carl Potter, 67, of Beverly, was later pronounced dead from his injuries. A second man, aged 65, survived.
Investigators suspect remains belong to missing boater
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its initial search for Wolcott on the weekend of the crash after extensive air and water sweeps. State environmental police had deployed side-scan sonar during those initial two days of searching, to no avail.
Yet the active investigation into the wreck never truly stopped. Now, geography and time have intersected.
“Given the proximity to a fatal October 3rd boating incident which remains actively under investigation, it is suspected that the deceased individual may be the missing boater,” Tucker’s office said in a public statement.
Medical examiner works to formally identify remains
In the immediate aftermath of the tragedy, the human cost was raw and immediate.
“It was a terrible accident, and we are in deep shock and sorrow,” Charlie Wolcott told the Globe the day after his son went missing.
The state medical examiner’s office must now formally identify the remains. Prosecutors indicated they would release an update as soon as that confirmation is complete.
For now, families wait once more. The state medical examiner’s findings will determine the next official step in a tragedy that has left coastal Massachusetts mourning since the first weekend of October.
