By Bryan Manabat
[email protected]
Variety News Staff
REPRESENTED by attorney Andres Ojeda Morales of Dotts Law Office, the mother of a crewman lost at sea during Typhoon Sinlaku has petitioned the Superior Court to declare her son legally presumed dead, two months after the U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for the capsized cargo vessel Mariana.
Alicia Agulto, mother of Vincent Agulto, filed a petition for letters of administration and a supporting motion for a declaration of presumptive death on June 17. In a sworn declaration, she said her son was one of five crew members aboard the 145-foot U.S.-registered dry cargo vessel when it became disabled and later capsized in the Pacific during the Category 5 storm.
“Two months later, after a diligent search, Vincent’s body has not been found,” she stated in her declaration. “He is presumed dead.”
According to a memorandum filed by Morales, the vessel’s starboard engine failed on April 15 while the ship was approximately 140 miles north-northwest of Saipan. Coast Guard watchstanders established hourly communications with the vessel’s manager but lost contact later that evening. The Mariana was subsequently found capsized about 100 nautical miles northeast of its last known position.
For two weeks, the Coast Guard and partner agencies conducted air and sea searches covering more than 135,000 square nautical miles before suspending operations on April 29. “We are deeply saddened…despite widespread efforts,” the Coast Guard said at the time.
Alicia Agulto is asking the court to declare her son presumed dead under 8 CMC § 2106(c), which permits such a finding when a missing person was exposed to a specific peril of death and cannot be located despite a diligent search. She is also seeking appointment as administrator of his estate.
Court filings indicate the estate may include a potential claim related to the Mariana as well as unspecified personal property. The petition identifies Vincent Agulto’s three minor children as heirs.
Presiding Judge Joseph N. Camacho has scheduled an evidentiary hearing for June 30 at 9:30 a.m.
In an order issued June 18, Judge Camacho wrote that “before a probate can be opened, the Court must make a finding that Vincent Agulto is deceased,” and directed all interested parties to appear.
