Search underway for missing woman last seen on ferry from N.S. to N.L.

An air and water search is underway for a woman who is believed to have fallen overboard from the MV Blue Puttees ferry as it travelled from North Sydney, N.S., to Port aux Basques, N.L., early Wednesday morning.

RCMP say a 41-year-old woman was seen on surveillance footage at 3:26 a.m. NDT on July 16, and has since been reported missing.

"As we are not sure of her current location, the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre and Coast Guard have been engaged to support a search by water," an RCMP spokesperson wrote in an email.

The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax confirmed to CBC News the woman is suspected to have fallen overboard.

"The RCMP have searched the vessel extensively upon arrival in Port aux Basques, N.L., and did not locate the individual," Lt.-Cmdr. Len Hickey, a spokesperson for the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, said in an email.

Hickey said a Hercules aircraft, a Cormorant helicopter and a Provincial Airlines aircraft were deployed Wednesday to search the water south of Port aux Basques.

Weather making search 'increasingly difficult'

As of Thursday, Hickey said one Hercules aircraft remains on scene, as well as CCGS La Poile Bay.

Another coast guard ship, the Cape Roger, will retrace the ferry's route between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland.

"Weather is becoming a concern," Hickey wrote. "Although the sea state remains calm at one meter, visibility is quickly decreasing and the ceiling continues to drop, making the search increasingly difficult."

A spokesperson for Marine Atlantic, which operates the MV Blue Puttees ferry, declined comment.

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