Social mediaA fisherman is presumed to be dead after a boat washed ashore in Aberdeenshire.
The alarm was raised on December 20 last year, after creel fishing vessel Sea Eagle was found unmanned on Inverbervie beach.
A major search operation was launched involving an HM Coastguard helicopter, fixed-wing aircraft and rescue teams from four stations.
Nearby fishing vessels also helped with the search.
However, the skipper, Ben Dowie, was never found.
Following an enquiry by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch, the 28-year-old has been presumed dead.
It was found that the vessel had left Arbroath after 5.30am and was making its way to the fishing area south-east of Montrose.
STV NewsThe autopilot was engaged at 9am; it is around this time that Mr Dowie fell overboard, but it is unclear how he entered the water.
The unmanned vessel was spotted floating towards the north-east beach by two walkers just before 11am.
The investigation determined that while lone-fishing, the 28-year-old was working two strings of creels at the time, increasing the likelihood of interaction with the fishing gear, leading to man overboard.
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