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Coast Guard halts search for missing men
Published August 29, 2009
The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended the search for three Matagorda County residents who their neighbors said are experienced boaters and friendly men.
James Phillips, 30, of Blessing; Curt Hall, 28, of Palacios; and Tressell Hawkins, 42, of Markham set sail Aug. 21 from a public boat ramp on the Colorado River. Aboard Phillips’ 23-foot Sea Chaser Catamaran, the trio was to return about 2 p.m. Saturday, according to information from the Matagorda County Sheriff’s Office.
Before the search was canceled at 10 a.m. Friday, the Coast Guard had covered about 86,000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico, Petty Officer Renee Aiello said.
During the week, the search extended as far as 210 miles offshore and shifted to the Louisiana coast. Four Coast Guard boats and as many aircraft were used in the search. So far, no debris matching Phillips’ boat has been found.
The search is the talk of Blessing, said Helen Feldhousen, who operates the Blessing Hotel Coffee Shop. The community is just off Highway 35 south of Bay City.
“Every day we try to see if anybody’s found out anything,” Feldhousen said. “We hope they do find them. They’re wonderful guys and are awfully friendly. It’s really upsetting the whole town, them being gone like that.”
Phillips owns Born Again Repairs in Blessing where he works on boats and other machines. He’s also held a pair of farm equipment auctions in the last year, Feldhousen said.
“They sold things like tractors, hay rakes, bailers, storage buildings … a little bit of everything,” Feldhousen said. “It was good for business and good for Blessing. I met him (Phillips) about a year ago and we were always kidding him, calling him the junk man. He enjoyed that. I’ve known the Hall boy for years. We’re all praying they’ll find them.”
As of Friday afternoon, a post about the search on the angling Web site 2coolfishing.com had drawn almost 700 replies.
The last confirmed sighting of the trio was at 7:30 p.m. Aug. 21 when an offshore oil worker saw them fishing near rigs about 75 miles south of Matagorda. They appeared to be in no distress, which doesn’t surprise Neil Jurek, who’s known Hall since childhood.
Jurek owns Jurek’s Smokehouse in Markham, a community on FM 2431 off Highway 35 south of Bay City.
“He goes offshore quite a bit,” Jurek said. “It’s not new to him. Curt is a good guy. Everybody hopes they all three come back.”
John Lowman covers Brazoria County for The Facts. Contact him at 979-849-8581.
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