Two men hospitalized after Essex boat rescue

May 3, 2026

ESSEX — Two men and a dog who were rescued from chest-deep water at the mouth of the Essex River Friday night are expected to recover from hypothermia, according to public safety officials.

Two brothers were in their 30-foot sailboat Jenny Lee, when their emergency beacon notified the U.S. Coast Guard at 8:12 p.m. of trouble. The USCG then passed on the information to North Shore Regional 911.

The men were said to have been out for “an hour or two” before the incident. “The mouth of the Essex River is not an easy place to navigate,” Assistant Harbormaster David Pereen said at a press conference Saturday. Citing tides and shifting sands, he said, “Navigation from the year before will be nothing like it is this year.”

After the emergency call, Police Chief Thomas Shamshak Jr., who is also the Essex harbormaster, responded and established unified command, launching a search for the vessel.

He soon located the sailboat, listing heavily to one side, off Coffins Beach near the mouth of the river. The vessel was taking on water. 

Meanwhile, Pereen and Essex Police Officer Joseph Fedullo, the deputy harbormaster, launched a 14-foot flatbottom fire-rescue skiff.

Police Sgt. Daniel Bruce responded from his home in Essex and deployed the Police Department’s drone to assist. He was unable to find a heat signature on the boat, police said.

Frigid-water search

Rescuers then knew they had a water search as the men had abandoned the vessel and were attempting to reach land by wading ashore in the dark.

“After several anxious minutes, rescuers located two men wading through frigid, chest-deep water,” a statement said. “The fire boat approached, and brought the two people inside the rescue boat. They also rescued a small dog who was floating alongside the people inside a plastic tote.”

Pereen estimated they were around quarter of a mile upriver from their boat.

In camera footage (embedded below), Fedullo is shown approaching the stricken crew and radioing, “Regional, we have two and a dog.” The time of that transmission was around 8:57 p.m., meaning the men could have been in water for up to 45 minutes.

Pereen said the men were “extremely disoriented, not knowing they were probably only 50 yards from the beach.” The worst affected was nonverbal and could not move, he said. The other man was able to clamber into the rescue skiff, he said.

The two men, brothers ages 28 and 30, were brought to shore. In the video, first responders are shown wrapping them to keep them warm while labored breathing can be heard in the background.

One of the brothers was able to walk, but the seriously injured man was carried on Fedullo’s shoulders approximately 250 yards through sand dunes to an area on 2 Penny Lane in Gloucester.

In a press conference Saturday afternoon, Fedullo was asked about the effort involved to bring the patient to a waiting ambulance. “The adrenaline was going. It was just what I had to do,” he said. “We just started trudging up the sand dunes.”

Hypothermia

Two Gloucester Fire Department ambulances took the two men to a local hospital for treatment for hypothermia.

One of them had a core body temperature of 93 degrees when he was examined in hospital, Pereen said. The water temperature is around 48 degrees at this time of the year.

“It was nerve racking,” Shamshak said at the press conference. “It means you have to find these people because seconds count.”

Both men were stabilized on Friday night and are expected to recover. The Gloucester Police Department also responded with multiple officers to assist at the shore. The dog was reported to be in good condition. 

The victims were reported to be from New Hampshire but their identities have not been released.

“This was a tremendous example of teamwork by the Essex Police and Fire Departments, working in direct contact with the Coast Guard and our other mutual aid partners to respond quickly, locate the vessel in distress and put assets in the water to make three successful rescues this evening,” Shamshak said. “This rescue underscores the importance of proper training and effective communication for maritime hazards in communities like ours.

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