Missing
Bernhard Fricke
Fricke, approximately 2000
Date and time person was reported missing : 04/06/2000
Missing location (approx) :
St. Augustine, Florida
Missing classification : Lost/Injured Missing
Gender : Male
Ethnicity :
White
DOB : 01/01/1940 (81)
Age at the time of disappearance: 60 years old
Height / Weight : 5'8, 140 pounds
Distinguishing characteristics, birthmarks, tattoos
: Caucasian male. Brown hair, blue eyes. Fricke has a scar on his abdomen.
Information on the case from local sources, may or may not be correct : 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 at the time of disappearance: 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 damAge at the time of disappearance: d. 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.
Other information and links : ncy
St. Johns County Sheriff's Office
904-824-8304
September 2021 updates and sources
Florida Department of Law Enforcement
The Virginian-Pilot
October 12, 2004. July 10, 2013; .
Interactive Missing Person Search Map
