Lewis Fishing Boat Lost in Storm; 1 Dead, 2 Missing

A fishing boat carrying three men set out into waters off the north coast of the Isle of Lewis on the evening of 13 October 2026 and never came back. The boat had been working near the Butt of Lewis, the northernmost point of the Outer Hebrides.

Around 9:20 p.m., HM Coastguard received the alert after the boat failed to return to port. The Stornoway RNLI lifeboat launched within minutes. Fixed-wing aircraft, rescue helicopters and coastguard teams on the ground joined the search through the night, battling gusts of up to 70 mph that rolled in off the North Atlantic.

By early morning on 14 October, crews had recovered one body from the sea. Two men are still unaccounted for. Police Scotland Highlands and Islands confirmed that next of kin have been notified and are receiving support from officers. Marine investigators will examine what happened once the search phase concludes.

MarineRadar tracking data for the 59°N cell covering the Outer Hebrides recorded a 2× jump in boat activity over the prior 24 hours, with three unique devices logged in the area as rescue operations were under way.