Serious concerns are growing for the safety of a captain who has disappeared after wreckage from his boat was found washed up on a beach in Cornwall.
Police in Devon and Cornwall have issued a public appeal following reports of David Fretwell’s disappearance. The 75-year-old was reported missing after his vessel, Green Goddess, was discovered beached in the Hayle area on Friday, March 6.
Following the discovery of David’s vessel in ruins, three coastguard ships, two RNLI lifeboats, and a helicopter were dispatched to Mexico Towans beach. Various items from the boat, including parts of the hull, life jackets, paint cans, gas cylinders, personal belongings, and a seat, were found scattered across the shoreline near Beachside Holiday Park.
According to Cornwall Live, most of the debris was located in the Mexico Towans vicinity, with residents spotting the items washed ashore. An HM Coastguard spokesperson mentioned that the sailing vessel was reported to have broken up on the Hayle beach shoreline, with no signs of any individuals aboard.
Search efforts were conducted by Coastguard Rescue Teams from St Ives, Portreath, and Penzance, along with an HM Coastguard helicopter and two RNLI lifeboats from St Ives. Devon and Cornwall Police were also notified of the situation. However, no distressed individuals were found during the searches, and the response was stood down around 2:30 pm pending further information.
It is believed that David traveled along the north Cornwall coast by boat, passing through Padstow and Newquay before reaching the St Ives area on March 4. Described as a white male with short grey hair, slim build, and standing around 5ft 7in, David remains missing.
A police representative urged anyone with information on David’s whereabouts to contact the authorities immediately by dialing 999 and quoting log number 247 06/03/26.
