Queensland Fisherman Missing as Search Shifts to Recovery

A 44-year-old experienced fisherman from Hollywell, Queensland, remains missing after his boat was found empty and adrift off the Gold Coast, prompting a multi-day search that has now shifted to recovery efforts along the southeastern Australian coast.

Ash Haigh set out alone from the Gold Coast Seaway around 6:30 a.m. on Thursday aboard his black half-cabin pleasure craft, The Grey Ghost, to fish for marlin. He was expected to return to Runaway Bay Marina by late afternoon but failed to book off with authorities or respond to radio calls. Water police were alerted around 7 p.m. that evening when the vessel was reported overdue. Searches of surrounding seaways began immediately, but the boat was not located until about 2 a.m. Friday, roughly 25 nautical miles southeast of the seaway, near Burleigh Headland.

The vessel was recovered empty, with no sign of Haigh. Acting Senior Sergeant Shannon Gray told reporters that the keys were found on a seat rather than in the ignition, which he described as unusual. One of the two boarding ladders was extended into the water, though Gray declined to speculate on its significance. The boat showed some water in the hull and possible minor...