The Latest: Records show man rescued at sea was slay suspect

The Latest: Records show man rescued at sea was slay suspect


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BOSTON (AP) — The Latest on a Vermont man who was rescued after being lost at sea for a week (all times local):

5:40 p.m.

Court records show that a Vermont man who spent a week on a life raft in the Atlantic Ocean before he was rescued recently was a suspect in the unsolved 2013 killing of his grandfather in Connecticut.

Nathan Carman, of Vernon, Vermont, was rescued Sunday. His mother, Linda Carman, of Middletown, Connecticut, is still missing and presumed dead. Nathan Carmen told the Coast Guard he and his mother were on his fishing boat when it sank.

Documents obtained by The Hartford Courant show that Nathan Carman was investigated in the fatal shooting of 87-year-old John Chakalos.

According to a search warrant, Carman was the last person known to see his grandfather alive on Dec. 20, 2013, because he had dinner with him at his home in Windsor, Connecticut. Chakalos was found dead the next morning.

The Courant reports that Windsor police submitted an arrest warrant for Carman to a prosecutor, but it was returned unsigned with a request for more information. Carman was never charged.

Carman's lawyer, Hubert Santos, declined to comment.

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5:10 p.m.

A Vermont man who was rescued after spending a week adrift in a life raft on the Atlantic Ocean told the Coast Guard he heard a "funny noise" in his boat's engine compartment, saw water pouring in, then lost sight of his mother before he boarded the life raft.

Nathan Carman can be heard describing what happened in audio of a phone call released Tuesday by the Coast Guard. A Coast Guard officer talked with Carman by phone after he was rescued Sunday by a passing freighter.

Vermont authorities, meanwhile, said police from South Kingstown, Rhode Island, searched Carman's home in Vermont on Monday evening. South Kingstown police did not immediately return calls seeking comment.

In the audio recording, Carman said he and his mother were out in his fishing boat when it began to rapidly take on water. He said when he saw the life raft, he did not see his mother.

"Have you found her?" he is heard asking the Coast Guard. The officer tells him they have not found her.

The Coast Guard has said Linda Carman, of Middletown, Connecticut, is presumed dead.

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4:00 p.m.

A lawyer for a Vermont man who was rescued after spending a week in a life raft in the Atlantic Ocean says the sinking of the man's boat was a "tragic accident."

Nathan Carman was rescued off the coast of Massachusetts on Sunday. His mother, Linda Carman, of Middletown, Connecticut, is still missing and presumed dead.

The pair left Point Judith, Rhode Island, aboard an aluminum fishing boat more than a week ago.

On Tuesday, Nathan Carman arrived in Boston, where Coast Guard officials questioned him about what happened.

He left the Coast Guard base in Boston at about 2 p.m. Tuesday with his father, who flew in from his home in California.

Prominent Connecticut defense attorney Hubert Santos said Carman "fully cooperated" with the Coast Guard. He would not disclose what Carman told the Coast Guard, but said the boat sinking was an accident.

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1:50 p.m.

Friends are remembering a Connecticut woman who is presumed dead more than a week after the fishing boat she was on with her son sank in the Atlantic Ocean.

Linda Carman, of Middletown, Connecticut, and her 22-year-old son, Nathan Carman, set out from Point Judith, Rhode Island, aboard his 31-foot aluminum boat on Sept. 18.

Nathan Carman was rescued by a passing freighter Sunday after floating in a life raft in the Atlantic for a week. He was brought back to Boston on Tuesday and is being questioned by the Coast Guard.

Friend Sharon Hartstein said Linda Carman was a thoughtful, generous person who worked to help children with autism. Nathan Carman has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism.

Hartstein said mother and son bonded over fishing and went on many fishing trips together.

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10:15 a.m.

A Vermont man who spent a week at sea in a life raft before being rescued by a passing freighter has arrived at a Boston Coast Guard base.

Nathan Carman was transported by a Coast Guard vessel from the freighter to the base at about 9:45 a.m. Tuesday. He and his mother set off for a fishing trip Sept. 18., but their boat sank. He was discovered in a life raft Sunday, but his mother hasn't been found and is presumed dead.

The 22-year-old man from Vernon was dressed in a white jumpsuit and appeared healthy and alert, but he did not speak publicly.

He was immediately taken to a Coast Guard vehicle and driven to a building on the base, where he will be questioned by Coast Guard officials.

He will also meet with his family and a lawyer.

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8:45 a.m.

A Vermont man who spent a week at sea in a life raft before being rescued by a passing freighter will be reunited with his family in Boston, while his mother is still unaccounted for and presumed dead.

Nathan Carman, of Vernon, Vermont, is expected to arrive in Boston on Tuesday morning aboard the freighter that rescued him off the coast of Massachusetts on Sunday. His mother, 54-year-old Linda Carman, of Middletown, Connecticut, has not been found.

The mother and son disappeared Sept. 18 after leaving a Rhode Island marina to go on a fishing trip in the son's 31-foot aluminum boat named the Chicken Pox.

The Coast Guard had suspended its search for the pair Friday. A private freighter found 22-year-old Nathan Carman two days later.

Family members have said the son has Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism.

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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