Body of missing N.J. fisherman found in N.C.

ATLANTIC CITY - A body that washed ashore at a North Carolina wildlife refuge Saturday afternoon was identified yesterday as the owner of a fishing boat that sank in rough seas off Cape May on Nov. 11.

A visitor collecting seashells at the north end of Pea Island National Wildlife Refuge, part of the Outer Banks, found the body of Kenneth Rose, 73, and contacted a park ranger.

Rose was one of three crewmen aboard the Sea Tractor when it sank about 200 miles north of the refuge.

Also aboard were his son Kenneth Jr., 49, and Larry Forrest, 55. Their bodies have not been found. The Roses were from Broad Creek, N.C., and Forrest had lived in Atlantic City before moving several months ago to the Villas section of Lower Township, Cape May County.

A life raft from the Sea Tractor had washed up at the wildlife refuge - about 20 miles south of Kitty Hawk - several days before Rose's body was found. A park law enforcement officer contacted Rose's family for information to identify the body. Unique scars and an identifiable gold ring provided the evidence needed for an identification, which was made yesterday by the local medical examiner.

There is still no word on what caused the 44-foot boat to sink, but it went down in bad weather as the remnants of Tropical Storm Ida began churning the ocean. Seas had topped 20 feet in the search area, with winds gusting to 55 m.p.h., when the search was called off during a nor'easter nearly a day later.

The Coast Guard did not immediately return a call seeking comment yesterday.

So far this year, nine commercial fishermen operating out of Cape May have died at sea. The Lady Mary, another North Carolina-based boat that operated out of Cape May, sank in March, killing six of the seven crew members on board.