The authorities have found the teenage lobster fisherman who had gone missing.
The Associated Press reports that the authorities have recovered a body, and the body has been confirmed to be that of 18-year-old Tyler Michaud, the missing teenage lobster fisherman from Steuben, Maine.
The Associated Press reports, "The state medical examiner’s office on Thursday positively identified a body recovered earlier in the week as Michaud, said Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources."
The discovery was made a little more than one month after Michaud had gone missing.
Earlier this summer, Michaud graduated from Sumner Memorial High School in Sullivan, Maine. This fall, he was planning on attending the Maine Maritime Academy.
Such classes, of course, have to be paid for in some way or other. And, Michaud's plan was to use the proceeds that he received from lobster fishing to pay for his classes at the academy.
On July 21, 2023 - which was less than two months after Michaud graduated from high school - he went out on his boat to check the traps that he had set to catch lobsters near Petit Mana Island. Michaud never returned from this outing.
Instead, his boat was located and it was discovered to be vacant. The community responded by conducting a large search effort for Michaud. The effort included local fishermen and community members, the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Maine Army National Guard, Maine Air National Guard, Maine Marine Patrol, Maine Forest Service, Maine State Police/Marine Patrol Underwater Recovery Team, and the Maine Warden Service.
The effort, however, was unsuccessful.
On Monday, Aug. 21, 2023, another lobster fisherman located a body in the waters near Addison. This is roughly seven miles away from the location where Michaud initially went missing.
A few days later, on Thursday, the medical examiner's office confirmed that the body was indeed Michaud's.
Keliher notified the community in a statement that he released on Friday.
He said:
I’m grateful for the tremendous outpouring of support that followed Tylar’s disappearance. The efforts of all who joined in the difficult search were unprecedented. Many agencies and individuals devoted countless hours to this search. It speaks volumes about the profound impact a loss like this can have.
Michaud's body was reportedly found that day after a memorial service for him was held at his high school. Hundreds of people are said to have attended.
