Ocean Search Abandoned for Missing Fisherman

An ocean search was abandoned early Friday for a man believed to have fallen overboard and drowned, leaving his fishing net snagged on the bottom and his dog alone on his boat, authorities said.

Robert Neil, 64, of Ojai made his living fishing alone on his 55-foot boat, “Way We Go,” but when occupants of a passing boat boarded the vessel Thursday afternoon, they found only his glasses and dog, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Robert Beals said.

A search by fishing boats and a Coast Guard helicopter plyed the waters off Long Beach eight miles west of Channel Islands Harbor until midnight, when Coast Guard officials called off the search, fearing that he had drowned after falling overboard. Neil was well-known to local fishermen, Beals said. He never wore a wet suit or life preserver, and was unlikely to survive long in the 64-degree water and waves of up to four feet.