Coast Guard suspends search for man who fell overboard

By Terri Schwartz, Globe Correspondent

The Coast Guard has suspended the search for a Maine man who fell overboard from his fishing boat about 125 miles east of Truro between 12 p.m. and 12:30 p.m. Friday.

The Coast Guard cutter Vigorous searched the area for him earlier today, with the help of a Coast Guard jet and the boat he fell from, the 63-foot stern trawler Bella Rose. But the search was suspended at 1:30 p.m. today, said Petty Officer Lauren Jorgensen, a Coast Guard spokeswoman.

The crew of the Bella Rose radioed for help Friday after they realized Chris Hopkins, 31, of Bass Harbor, Maine, was missing.

The Coast Guard dispatched a jet and helicopter to search the area; the Bella Rose and four other fishing boats joined in. The search for Hopkins continued late into Friday night and resumed in the early hours today.