On Sunday, February 9th, 2020, Norman Grant, a crew member of the F/V Prolifik based out of Brookings, was reported missing after stopping in Newport, Oregon to offload crab. Newport Police Officers began an investigation and learned that Grant was last seen around 7:00pm on February 8th. Officers also confirmed that Grant was a crew member of the F/V Prolifik, which was moored at the Hallmark Fisheries on the Bay Front. Phone records and local video confirmed Grant’s last known location was on Bay Blvd. in the area of the moored F/V Prolifik.
It had been reported that he had spoken with his wife the night of the 7th and went to a local restaurant on the bayfront with the Captain, and never made it back to the vessel.
Officers searched the area and arranged for a dive team from Lane County to search the area surrounding the F/V Prolifik’s mooring. Search efforts revealed no further evidence of Grant’s location.
On Wednesday, February 26th, a fishing vessel reported hitting something beneath the water surface in the area of the Hallmark Fisheries dock. A local diver inspected the boat and found clothing entangled in the vessel’s propeller. The diver checked the immediate area, and located a human body about 80 feet south of the Hallmark Fisheries dock.
The USCG, Lincoln County Sheriff, and Lane County Sheriff’s Office Dive Team responded to assist. The body was recovered and transported to Bateman’s Funeral home, where the body was positively identified as Norman Grant.
