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January 3, 2009

2 local fishermen dead in sinking of 'The Patriot'

By Times Staff

Two local fishermen have been confirmed dead after a trawler out of Gloucester apparently caught fire and sank off the coast early Saturday morning.

Matteo Russo, 36, the owner and captain of The Patriot, and his father-in-law John Orlando, also a longtime local fisherman, both died early today when the 54-foot trawler based out of Gloucester's Jodrey Pier went down, Coast Guard officials confirmed. The boat's last known location was pegged some 15 miles southeast of Gloucester Harbor, a site within Stellwagen Bank.

The Coast Guard learned of trouble aboard the Patriot after a fire alarm went off on board at about 1:45 a.m., according to Coast Guard officials. The Coast Guard sent a helicopter, cutter and rescue boat to the Patriots' last known position. Terrell said crews found debris in the water, and the body of one of the two fishermen. The Coast Guard later found the second victim after a search of several hours. 

Russo had acquired the 11-year-old trawler and renamed it earlier this year. The boat was formerly named the Danielle Marie. Russo and the boat were featured in a Times column by Peter Prybot this past May. To read Peter's full column, go to the Search box on the upper right side of the gloucestertimes.com home page, enter "Prybot Patriot," and click on the link to the story when it appears.

For more on this story, look to gloucestertimes.com tonight and tomorrow. For full coverage, look to Monday's print and online editions of the Gloucester Daily Times.

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