Tag Archives: Bill Owen

Crew held against their will? U.S. Coast Guard investigating commercial fishing trip.

One captain, three crewmen with little experience, and two very different stories about what happened on a fishing trip that ended with a U.S. Coast Guard escort back to land. Bill Owen, one of the crew members, said he felt held against his will while working on a commercial fishing boat that left out of Ft. Pierce on May 11. Owen said he responded to an online job posting looking to hire fishing hands. He said the trip was to last six days but on the fifth day, things turned combative.  “Tuesday came and we were told we’re not going in [to land], [the captain said] I’m not going to tell you when we’re going in, I’m not going to tell you where we are,” said Owen. “It got progressively worse [going] from just aggressive talk to aggressive actions. That’s when it went from being not fun to this is a serious issue.” Saved by the Phone,,, Click here to read the story 09:38