Records from the original Coast Guard response reveal that dangerous weather conditions and nearby wind turbines complicated an aerial search for the missing fishermen.
Now, an environmental organization is demanding a fresh investigation, arguing that federal authorities may have overlooked critical evidence involving one of America’s earliest offshore wind developments.
A Seven-Year Mystery Takes an Unexpected Turn
On January 1, 2019, Captain Oscar Diaz was operating the Mistress near Block Island when the vessel encountered dangerous conditions.
Accompanying him were his son, Tim Diaz, and his nephew, John Ansay.
The situation quickly deteriorated, prompting distress calls as the fishing boat struggled in rough seas.
Another commercial fishing vessel eventually rescued Tim from a life raft.
His father and cousin were not so fortunate.
Despite a Coast Guard search, neither missing fisherman was recovered, and investigators were unable to locate the sunken vessel.
For years, the precise circumstances surrounding the tragedy remained unresolved.
That changed in the summer of 2026.
Green Oceans, a Rhode Island-based nonprofit organization critical of offshore wind development, identified a possible underwater wreck using side-scan sonar in July.
On August 30, divers descended approximately 92 feet beneath the Atlantic Ocean and documented what they believed was the missing Mistress.
The wreck was situated remarkably close to turbine No. 1 at the Block Island Wind Farm.
Investigators photographed several distinctive components, including the boat’s propulsion equipment, fuel storage tanks, deck structures, and fishing machinery.
One particularly important piece of evidence was a net drum reportedly constructed by Tim Diaz himself.
After reviewing the underwater images, Tim identified the equipment as belonging to his father’s boat.
Green Oceans President Michael Lombardi has expressed complete confidence in the identification.
Even more troubling, divers reported discovering what appeared to be human remains near the wreckage.
Those findings have intensified calls for authorities to revisit the tragedy.
Coast Guard Documents Reveal a Major Obstacle During the Rescue
The discovery has also brought renewed attention to the Coast Guard’s original emergency response.
According to records cited by Green Oceans, a rescue helicopter was dispatched after receiving distress calls from the fishing vessel.
However, the aircraft was unable to complete its planned search.
The Coast Guard documentation stated that the helicopter “was unable to conduct sector or parallel searches and returned after approximately 37 minutes.”
Officials identified severe winds, reduced visibility, and low cloud cover among the operational hazards.
But the records reportedly identified another concern: the nearby offshore wind turbines.
The enormous structures presented an additional obstacle for pilots attempting to navigate the area under dangerous conditions.
Green Oceans representative Ben Riggs explained the potential danger of operating a helicopter near rapidly rotating turbine blades.
“you don’t want to get hit by a blade that’s going 200 miles an hour.”
The documentation does not establish that the turbines were the decisive reason the helicopter withdrew. Nevertheless, their identification as a hazard raises questions about how offshore energy infrastructure affects emergency operations.
For families whose loved ones remain missing, those questions carry enormous weight.
Did the Captain Attempt to Avoid a Turbine?
Green Oceans is also examining whether the wind farm may have played a role in the fishing vessel’s final moments.
Lombardi has suggested that Captain Diaz might have made a sudden maneuver to avoid striking a turbine.
Specifically, he wants investigators to determine whether the captain turned toward starboard in “an attempt to avoid a collision with the turbine.”
Such a maneuver could potentially destabilize a vessel already taking on water.
The position of the recovered fishing equipment has added to that theory.
Divers found the net drum inverted, a detail that appears consistent with Tim Diaz’s account that the vessel rolled before sinking.
However, there is an important distinction between a plausible theory and a proven cause.
No publicly established forensic conclusion demonstrates that the wind turbine caused the Mistress to sink.
Heavy seas, flooding, vessel stability, and other factors remain relevant possibilities.
That uncertainty is precisely why Green Oceans believes the wreck should receive a comprehensive examination.
The organization has requested that the Coast Guard reopen its investigation and that the Interior Department coordinate a broader federal review.
It also wants the wreck preserved for forensic analysis and the wind farm’s operational and maintenance records examined.
Questions Mount Over What Wind Farm Operators Knew
The discovery has placed additional scrutiny on Ørsted, the Danish energy company associated with the Block Island Wind Farm.
Green Oceans has questioned how a substantial commercial fishing vessel could remain undiscovered so close to an operating turbine for more than seven years.
According to the organization, maintenance activities took place around the turbine in April 2019, only months after the disappearance.
That timeline has prompted questions about whether monitoring equipment, maintenance crews, or underwater inspections might have detected the wreck earlier.
However, the wreck’s proximity to the turbine does not by itself establish that Ørsted knew of its presence.
Determining what information was available to the operator would require reviewing relevant inspection records and monitoring data.
Green Oceans argues that those documents should be made available to investigators.
Rhode Island Democrats Face Questions Over Their Response
The controversy is also drawing attention to Rhode Island’s Democratic congressional delegation.
According to reporting cited from Thy Back Door, Rep. Seth Magaziner declined to call for the Coast Guard to reopen the case.
The outlet also reported that Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, along with Rep. Gabe Amo, had not publicly demanded a renewed investigation as of early October.
The absence of a public call for reopening the case does not establish that the lawmakers oppose further investigation.
Still, critics argue that the discovery of a potentially identifiable wreck, together with reported human remains and newly scrutinized rescue records, warrants a clear response from elected officials.
Whitehouse, in particular, has been one of Washington’s most prominent advocates for aggressive climate policies and renewable energy development.
That makes the controversy politically sensitive.
Offshore wind supporters maintain that renewable energy projects can strengthen domestic electricity supplies and reduce dependence on fossil fuels.
Critics counter that the industry’s rapid expansion requires greater scrutiny of navigation hazards, emergency response capabilities, and risks to commercial fishermen.
The Mistress case has brought those competing concerns into sharp focus.
Offshore Wind Safety Concerns Extend Beyond Block Island
The Block Island Wind Farm began operating in 2016, becoming the first commercial offshore wind installation in the United States.
Federal regulators previously determined that the project presented limited navigational risks.
However, subsequent research has identified potential challenges associated with placing large turbine arrays in heavily traveled waters.
A 2022 National Academies report warned that offshore turbines “could obfuscate smaller vessels and stationary objects such as buoys on radar” and potentially complicate maritime rescue operations.
The broader offshore wind industry also faced a major setback in July 2024 when a turbine blade at the Vineyard Wind project fractured near Nantucket.
The incident scattered debris into surrounding waters and forced the closure of six beaches.
Local authorities warned residents about dangerous fiberglass fragments washing ashore.
Although the Nantucket blade failure and the Mistress sinking involved different circumstances, both incidents have fueled debate over the risks associated with offshore wind infrastructure.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly criticized the industry.
He previously declared that “the only people that want them are the people getting rich off windmills.”
His administration has also moved to restrict offshore wind development.
In December 2025, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum paused five offshore wind leases along the East Coast, describing the projects as “expensive, unreliable, heavily subsidized.”
The administration’s position has been welcomed by offshore wind opponents, although supporters dispute those characterizations and argue that the industry can provide substantial economic and energy benefits.
Two Missing Fishermen Deserve Answers
For all the political arguments surrounding renewable energy, the central issue remains the fate of Captain Oscar Diaz and John Ansay.
Their families have spent years without definitive answers about the vessel’s disappearance.
The discovery of what appears to be the Mistress offers an opportunity to examine physical evidence that investigators did not have in 2019.
A renewed inquiry could help determine whether the captain’s final maneuvers, the weather, the vessel’s condition, or nearby infrastructure contributed to the disaster.
It could also establish whether the wind turbines materially affected the Coast Guard’s ability to conduct its search.
Those are questions that should be answered through evidence rather than political assumptions.
The discovery does not prove that offshore wind infrastructure caused the tragedy. But it does provide a compelling reason to examine the original conclusions and determine whether additional safety measures are necessary.
For two fishermen who never returned home, and for the relatives who have waited nearly eight years, a thorough investigation would be about something far more important than Washington’s energy debate.
It would be about finally establishing what happened that night in the Atlantic.
