TV star fisherman’s haunting final call with a friend just hours before the vessel carrying his entire crew vanished off the Massachusetts coast
Gus Sanfilippo, skipper of the Lily Jean, and six others are feared dead after their 72-foot fishing boat capsized in bone-chilling 12-degree waters — but questions are now swirling about what really happened in the final hours before the tragedy.

Fisherman Sebastian Noto revealed he spoke with Sanfilippo — a fifth-generation commercial fisherman from Gloucester, Mass. — at around 3 a.m., when the two discussed the worsening conditions at sea, unaware it would be their last conversation. Did the sea turn faster — and more violently — than anyone expected?

The TV star fisherman who vanished with his crew off the coast of Massachusetts after their boat sank reportedly had a concerning call with his pal – hours before the tragedy on Friday.

Gus Sanfilippo, skipper of the Lily Jean, and six others are presumed dead after their 72-foot fishing vessel capsized when temperatures at sea were a bone-chilling 12 degrees.

Fisherman Sebastian Noto claimed he spoke with Sanfilippo — a fifth-generation commercial fisherman out of Gloucester, Mass. — at around 3 a.m, where the two discussed the outdoor conditions.

A smiling man and a child with a blurred face stand behind a birthday cake with lit candles.

Gus Sanfilippo, captain of the fishing vessel Lily Jean, had a worrying call with his friend hours before his vessel capsized.
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“I quit. It’s too cold,” Sanfilippo reportedly told Noto, according to NBC Boston. “He was calm. He just couldn’t do the cold because the air holes were freezing.”

Noto became concerned when there was no sign of Sanfilippo hours later.

“I was about 30 miles east of him. We usually work together all the time. We are like glue man. We give a lot of information back-and-forth,” Noto told the outlet.

A Coast Guard helicopter and boat scrambled to the area where the boat sent a beacon alert distress signal – around 25 miles off the coast of Cape Ann, Mass. This search was suspended on Saturday.

There was no Mayday call from the vessel and around 1,000 square miles were searched, according to Coast Guard officials.

Crews deployed aircraft, cutters and small boats over 24 hours as they battled polar conditions.

Gus Sanfilippo's 72-foot boat, the Lily Jean, docked next to a red boat.

No Mayday call was sent by the Lily Jean.

Fishing boats tied up in Gloucester, Massachusetts, during winter.

Boats tied up in Gloucester, Ma, amid the freezing conditions.
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“The decision to suspend the search was incredibly difficult,” said Capt. Jamie Frederick, commander of Coast Guard Sector Boston. “Our thoughts and prayers are with all the family members and friends of the lost crew of the Lilly Jean, and with the entire Gloucester community during this heartbreaking time.”

The cause of the incident is under investigation

Sanfilippo and his crew on the Lily Jean starred in an episode of “Nor’Easter Men” which aired on the History Channel in 2012. The crew spent days at sea trying to find seafood.

One body has been found and six others are missing, according to WFXT. An empty life raft and debris were also found in the water.

Environmental biology graduate Jada Samitt, 22, was on board the boat, her family told the outlet.

Flowers placed at the Gloucester Fisherman's Memorial, which features a statue of a fisherman gripping a ship's wheel.

Mourners have paid tribute to the missing crew.

Her devastated aunt Heather Michaels said being at sea was Samitt’s “dream.”

“This is something she loved and put her heart and soul into,” Michaels said.

Vito Giacalone, head of the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund, said he was left “heartbroken” by the sinking.

“To have that many lives lost all at once, we haven’t seen that in a long time.”