Three days after he was reported missing and two days after his empty boat was found with the motor still running, family and friends of a Steuben lobsterman are losing hope of seeing the young man safely brought back to shore.
Tylar Michaud, 18, was last seen Friday morning heading out for the day to haul and set traps near Petit Manan Point, according to the Maine Marine Patrol. He was reported missing about 5 p.m. Friday when he failed to return. On Sunday the U.S. Coast Guard ended its participation in the search.
Calls to the U.S. Coast Guard Northern New England Sector were not immediately returned on Sunday.
On Sunday the Maine Department of Marine Resources issued a statement that it was continuing to search the waters near Petit Manan Point with aerial assets from the Army National Guard and Maine Forest Service.
While they wait, those who know Michaud, who graduated in June from Sumner Memorial High School and is set to start classes in engineering at Maine Maritime Academy this fall, talk of a young man who was doing what he loved on Friday.
“He loved the ocean and he loved fishing,” said Angela Kennedy, Sunday afternoon. “He and my son Lance were always plotting how to fish and where to fish — they just loved it.”
Michaud is the stepson of Kennedy’s father-in-law, and he was raised in her home with her sons.
The last time she saw Michaud was Friday morning when he and other lobstermen headed out of harbor in their boats to haul their traps. Michaud was working alone on his own lobster boat Top Gun.
The empty boat was found Saturday morning, and those who saw the boat and have years of experience working on the water say evidence on board points to Michaud having been dragged overboard with his gear.
“I have been on the water myself,” Kennedy said. “When there is a boat in forward gear and the captain is not on it, he went over with his gear.”
Mack Kelley, 32, has known Michaud for a number of years and was among the first to come across the boat during Saturday’s search. While holding out for a miracle, Kelley, who is a fifth-generation lobsterman, agrees there is not much room for hope.
“There were signs of a struggle with ropes,” Kelley said. “He was likely dragged overboard by a [lobster] trap.”
Despite the sheer number of people searching for Michaud on the water and nearby islands, there is no evidence he made it to shore, Kelley said.
“To describe Tylar you would use all the good words you can think of,” Kelley said. “He is overwhelmingly kind and always has a smile.”
For those who know him, the last several days have been tough.
“He’s one of those kids who stood out because of his kindness, generosity and compassion toward others,” said Charles Kelley, pastor at Unionville Church of God in Steuben and father of Mack Kelley. “He was one in a million.”
Charles Kelley said Michaud spent a great deal of time at his home and became part of the large fifth-generation fishing family.
“He just started coming around the house and became best friends with my younger brother Connor,” Mack Kelley said. “We’d hang out, and I would do older brother things with them [and] as Tylar got older, I took him on my boat.”
Because of that, Mack Kelley got to watch Michaud fall in love with working on the water.
“He grew up on the back of my boat,” Mack Kelley said. “When he first started he was filling bait buckets and trying to keep up with banding the lobsters, and you could tell he was passionate about fishing.”
Michaud was also passionate about his future at MMA.
“He’d already been fitted for his uniform,” Kennedy said. “He was proud as hell of that and proud of that boat that he built up with his two hands — that is some impressive stuff for a young man.”
The close community of fishermen in Steuben have been rallying in support ever since Michaud was reported missing.
“Fishermen are really something,” Kennedy said. “When they realized something was amiss they were all on board out searching in the fog Friday, on Saturday and again today using their boats for a grid search to bring [Tylar] home for his family.”
While they wait, Kennedy said they are doing what she said needs to be done.
“We are taking up his traps, bringing in his boat and cleaning out the boat because we know we have to do that,” Kennedy said. “After that, good question — then we figure it out.”
