Bernhard Fricke

• Missing Since 04/06/2000
• Missing From St. Augustine, Florida
• Classification Lost/Injured Missing
• Sex Male
• Race White
• Date of Birth 01/01/1940 (84)
• Age 60 years old
• Height and Weight 5'8, 140 pounds
• Associated Vehicle(s) 30-foot catamaran boat called the Anna V (accounted for)
• Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Fricke has a scar on his abdomen.

Details of Disappearance

Fricke is a German citizen from the city of Cologne. On April 3, 2000, he left St. Augustine, Florida to sail to Germany in his 30-foot catamaran, the Anna V. He's an experienced sailor and had made the trans-Atlantic voyage before. He kept in touch with his sister by email during his journey.

The last time anyone heard from Fricke was on April 6. In his final email to his sister, he wrote he felt seasick and his boat had been damaged. He said he planned to stop at Cape Cod, Massachusetts to make repairs, then continue on his journey.

At 7:15 a.m. on April 7, the Anna V's Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon was activated. The beacon transmitted the vessel's registration information about the to the Coast Guard and was supposed to also transmit the location coordinates, but the transmission was cut off and the Coast Guard was left without any information as to where to search.

Two days later, a container ship found the Anna V capsized 100 miles east of Delaware. Both Fricke and the life raft were missing. The Coast Guard launched an extensive search covering 89,000 square nautical miles, about the size of the state of Colorado.

They found no indication of Fricke's whereabouts, however, and called off the search effort after a week. He is presumed lost at sea.