how Hazlet man
fell off boat, died
Authorities unsure
how Hazlet man
fell off boat, died
BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer
HAZLET — A township man who was missing last week after a fishing expedition is dead.
The body of Francis W. Delucia, 38, of Buttonwood Place was found on the shores of Long Island’s Lido Beach Saturday morning, two days after the abandoned boat he captained had washed ashore on Long Island with the keys still in the vessel’s ignition.
The case began as a missing persons report that was filed about 2:58 a.m. Sept. 25, Hazlet Police Detective Capt. Robert Mulligan said.
"The Long Beach (Long Island) Police Department called our headquarters to report that they had a boat wash up on shore, which traced back to someone in Hazlet," Mulligan said. "They checked the boat’s registration number and it came back to Donna Stancavage of Buttonwood Place in Hazlet."
The keys were still in the boat and there were no occupants in sight, Mulligan said.
Stancavage, the boat’s owner, reported that Delucia was operating the vessel the day it disappeared. The couple lived together.
"She reported that she had last seen Delucia about 12:30 p.m. on Sept. 24 when she stopped home (from work) for lunch." Mulligan said. "At that time she said he was cleaning the boat for a fishing trip later that day."
About 8:20 p.m. that evening, Stancavage received a telephone call from Delucia, who said he was about one hour away from the Atlantic Highlands Marina on Sandy Hook Bay, Mulligan said.
"The conversation was that he was trolling (or fishing) on his way back to the docks and that was the last she heard anything about his whereabouts until the Long Island police contacted us in the early morning hours of Sept. 25 and we contacted her," Mulligan said.
Delucia’s body was found two days later. Authorities do not know what caused Delucia’s death, and the matter is still under investigation, Mulligan said.
The 19-foot boat was in gear and out of gas when it was beached, Mulligan said.
There was an indication that the boat had run itself ashore with no one driving it.
Delucia’s cell phone was found in the boat. No life jacket was left behind, which gave police an indication at first that he may have survived.
"At this time, the disappearance does not appear to be suspicious," Mulligan said, "but it is being investigated by the state Marine Police as well as the U.S. Coast Guard and the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office.