Coast Guard Locates Wreckage Of Ship Missing For 58 Years

BOSTON (CBS) – The U.S. Coast Guard announced Thursday it has found the wreckage of a ship that has been lost for nearly six decades. The Coast Guard had been searching for the cutter Bear since it was lost at sea while being towed in 1963.

The Bear was described to have wood as thick as the U.S.S. Constitution and an iron bow that helped it navigate through ice.

The Coast Guard says it teamed up with NOAA to finally track down the lost ship off the coast of Nova Scotia.

"Several elements were fundamental considerations for the identification," said Joe Hoyt, the National Maritime Heritage Coordinator for NOAA.

"The geographic location of the find relative to the historic records," Hoyt said. "It was within a few miles of where we expected it to be. The consistency and general dimensions in the layout of the vessel, the lack of an engine, but evidence of engineering space consistent with the historic record. It had an engine that had been recovered prior to its loss."

During World War II, the cutter Bear served during the Greenland patrols and participated in the capture of a German spy vessel.