Just rewatched the missing crew from the Sara Jo segment. Brief rundown: 5 friends from Hawaii go fishing, unexpectedly get caught in a gale, and vanish without a trace. Ten years later, a boat (which turns out to be the Sara Jo) is found on an island 2,000 miles from where the men were last seen alive. Also found on the island is a shallow, makeshift grave, which contained the remains of one of the missing men, Scott Moorman.

Several baffling questions are left at the end of the UM segment:

-How did Scott Moorman and the Sara Jo make it 2,000 miles in a storm without any emergency equipment or supplies?
-If Scott Moorman was dead when he reached the island, who buried him?
-What happened to the other 4 crew members?

In the UM segment, there is a subtle hint that the 5 men made it to the island where they lived for a short time until Scott Moorman died, and they buried him before either being rescued, or attempting to get off the island (a la Castaway). But after doing some research into the case, I found an article written in 2009 that says that family members of the missing men hired a private investigator to look into the case, and to determine what happened to the other 4 men. The new general consensus amongst the family members is that in the middle of the storm, Moorman tied himself to the Sara Jo, while the other 4 men either fell out of the boat or were knocked overboard and drowned at sea. They believe that Moorman could have survived for a short time, but not long enough to make it to the island where the boat and his remains were ultimately found. Also, the island is a hot spot for Chinese fishermen to illegally fish. The PI's theory was that some illegal fisherman stumbled on to Moorman's remains in the boat, and buried them quietly and never came forward out of fear for getting in trouble. And in considering the possibility that Moorman made it to the island alive, he probably died shortly after arriving, since the island has no source of water on it. This theory seems to make the most sense, IMO, and fits perfectly with the known evidence.

You can read more about the case here: http://www.paulluvera.com/weblog/2009/02/the-mystery-of-the-sarah-joe.html

I also believe that the other 4 sailors may have been swept overboard during the storm and drowned . That boat looked small and I get goosebumps thinking about the fact that 5 men were onboard with no supplies etc :eek:

Given the distance between the last possible location of the Sara Jo and the location of the grave I think the probability of Moorman making there alive is very low ......

This theory does make perfect sense, but the only thing that gives me pause was a line in the UM segment about how there was a U.S. government survey of that island around 1985-86 and neither the Sarah Joe and the grave were there at that time. They estimated it would have taken the Sarah Joe a couple months to drift to that island, so it seems strange that it wouldn't be there five or six years after it went missing, but suddenly show up nine years later.

But of course, that mystery could simply be written off by assuming the government actually did a survey of a different island in 85-86 and got them mixed up.

This theory does make perfect sense, but the only thing that gives me pause was a line in the UM segment about how there was a U.S. government survey of that island around 1985-86 and neither the Sarah Joe and the grave were there at that time. They estimated it would have taken the Sarah Joe a couple months to drift to that island, so it seems strange that it wouldn't be there five or six years after it went missing, but suddenly show up nine years later.

But of course, that mystery could simply be written off by assuming the government actually did a survey of a different island in 85-86 and got them mixed up.


Interesting , one other possibility that also popped into my head is that maybe the storm first blew the boat in another direction in ocean instead of straight to the small island it was later found in, then perhaps after the storm the boat gradually drifted round to the place it was eventually found ......

Maybe the govt survey was wrong.

This theory does make perfect sense, but the only thing that gives me pause was a line in the UM segment about how there was a U.S. government survey of that island around 1985-86 and neither the Sarah Joe and the grave were there at that time. They estimated it would have taken the Sarah Joe a couple months to drift to that island, so it seems strange that it wouldn't be there five or six years after it went missing, but suddenly show up nine years later.

But of course, that mystery could simply be written off by assuming the government actually did a survey of a different island in 85-86 and got them mixed up.

The Sarah Joe could have made it to the island in three months, but it also could have been adrift far longer before landing there.

Also, as pointed out by others. the govt could be wrong about which atoll they surveyed and/or the govt surveyors could simply have missed the small boat and grave while they were there.

Yeah it wouldn't surprise me in the least if the government simply missed it or was mistaken.

I double-checked and the actual wording they use in the segment is...

"But according to the brother of one of the missing men, a U.S. government survey of Taongi a full six years after the men disappeared found no trace of the Sarah Joe."

So, yeah, that piece of information about the boat not being on the island could very well be nothing more than hearsay.

I double-checked and the actual wording they use in the segment is...

"But according to the brother of one of the missing men, a U.S. government survey of Taongi a full six years after the men disappeared found no trace of the Sarah Joe."

So, yeah, that piece of information about the boat not being on the island could very well be nothing more than hearsay.
This was one of the more mysterious episodes I watched when I first saw it. The fact that one man made it to dry land that far away is truly unbelievable to me. But the more I watch this one the more I think the survey was wrong or overlooked the boat. But to go that many years without being discovered is strange and it seems like only one major storm could have swept the boat off the island? Idk truly one that will never be solved unless the people that buried mooreman come forward but it's likely they don't even know about the story.

Just rewatched the missing crew from the Sara Jo segment. Brief rundown: 5 friends from Hawaii go fishing, unexpectedly get caught in a gale, and vanish without a trace. Ten years later, a boat (which turns out to be the Sara Jo) is found on an island 2,000 miles from where the men were last seen alive. Also found on the island is a shallow, makeshift grave, which contained the remains of one of the missing men, Scott Moorman.

Several baffling questions are left at the end of the UM segment:

-How did Scott Moorman and the Sara Jo make it 2,000 miles in a storm without any emergency equipment or supplies?
-If Scott Moorman was dead when he reached the island, who buried him?
-What happened to the other 4 crew members?

In the UM segment, there is a subtle hint that the 5 men made it to the island where they lived for a short time until Scott Moorman died, and they buried him before either being rescued, or attempting to get off the island (a la Castaway). But after doing some research into the case, I found an article written in 2009 that says that family members of the missing men hired a private investigator to look into the case, and to determine what happened to the other 4 men. The new general consensus amongst the family members is that in the middle of the storm, Moorman tied himself to the Sara Jo, while the other 4 men either fell out of the boat or were knocked overboard and drowned at sea. They believe that Moorman could have survived for a short time, but not long enough to make it to the island where the boat and his remains were ultimately found. Also, the island is a hot spot for Chinese fishermen to illegally fish. The PI's theory was that some illegal fisherman stumbled on to Moorman's remains in the boat, and buried them quietly and never came forward out of fear for getting in trouble. And in considering the possibility that Moorman made it to the island alive, he probably died shortly after arriving, since the island has no source of water on it. This theory seems to make the most sense, IMO, and fits perfectly with the known evidence.

You can read more about the case here: http://www.paulluvera.com/weblog/2009/02/the-mystery-of-the-sarah-joe.html

Forgive my ignorance but is it normal for someone to tie themselves to a boat during distress? What purpose would that serve?

Forgive my ignorance but is it normal for someone to tie themselves to a boat during distress? What purpose would that serve?

I would probably do it out of fear of being swept away from the boat, especially if my companions all fell out of the boat and I saw it. The boat is bigger than me, therefore a plane is more likely to see the boat floating in the water as opposed to me waving frantically for help.

Just a thought.

Forgive my ignorance but is it normal for someone to tie themselves to a boat during distress? What purpose would that serve?

IIRC, the boat they were using was small, so if they were facing rough waters, as LooksLikeCRicci has said, Moorman probably did it as a desperation move after seeing one or more of his friends fall overboard. I believe the theory was that he tied his arms around the wheel of the boat. This strategy worked, because he ultimately did make it to the island (alive or not is debatable).

IIRC, the boat they were using was small, so if they were facing rough waters, as LooksLikeCRicci has said, Moorman probably did it as a desperation move after seeing one or more of his friends fall overboard. I believe the theory was that he tied his arms around the wheel of the boat. This strategy worked, because he ultimately did make it to the island (alive or not is debatable).

I would probably do it out of fear of being swept away from the boat, especially if my companions all fell out of the boat and I saw it. The boat is bigger than me, therefore a plane is more likely to see the boat floating in the water as opposed to me waving frantically for help.

Just a thought.

Thanks!! I'm not too familiar with boats or aquatic type stuff so I wasn't sure.

I find it hard to believe that he made it to shore alive. Just my opinion though.

Thanks!! I'm not too familiar with boats or aquatic type stuff so I wasn't sure.

I find it hard to believe that he made it to shore alive. Just my opinion though.
It's amazing that he made it to that island with the boat dead or alive. That is a long way. The solvable part of this segment is who buried him?

It's amazing that he made it to that island with the boat dead or alive. That is a long way. The solvable part of this segment is who buried him?

Probably a fisherman who fished off of the island illegally.

When I first watched this segment, I remember thinking of the movie "A Perfect Storm".

I found a relative of Scott Moorman on Facebook and they have photos of him there. They really miss him. I never knew that Ralph Malaikini's twin brother starred as him in the segment. Haven't heard much from Patrick Woesner and Benjamin Kalama's families in articles about the Sara Jo, but Peter Hanchett's father (who is now deceased) had said something about how calm the ocean was the day the 5 men vanished and the skies were clear. I feel bad for the families, there's just no closure when they're still out there somewhere, even though I know they're long gone.

The comment section over at unsolved.com has some interesting insight into the paper book found buried with Scott Moorman. Apparently the theory is that whoever buried Moorman was of the belief of burying him with joss paper ("spirit money") which is typical of Asian funerals and customs. This backs up Moorman being found by Chinese fishermen illegally fishing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_paper

The comment section over at unsolved.com has some interesting insight into the paper book found buried with Scott Moorman. Apparently the theory is that whoever buried Moorman was of the belief of burying him with joss paper ("spirit money") which is typical of Asian funerals and customs. This backs up Moorman being found by Chinese fishermen illegally fishing.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joss_paper

Interesting!

Yes I always thought it was an asian symbol of peace and death or something along those lines.