Canada

Photo: The Canadian Press. All rights reserved.

Marianne Smith (left) and her husband Don Smith (right) comfort Marilyn Nickerson (centre) outside of the Woods Harbour Community Centre in Woods Harbour, N.S. on Saturday, Feb. 23. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Devaan Ingraham

The father of one of five young Nova Scotia fishermen lost at sea says word that divers found no sign of their bodies beneath a capsized vessel is hard to accept, yet it gives him a sense of closure.

"There's no need for any more search," said George Hopkins, whose 27-year-old son Joel Hopkins was among the missing.

Nearby, a dozen cars were parked and a steady stream of family friends came and went, offering condolences as they entered his brightly lit house.

"It wasn't the result we wanted," said Hopkins.

"But for me there's closure knowing the search is over and there's no hope now of anybody being alive."

RCMP said Saturday they've been told no bodies were found in a search of an overturned boat off southwest Nova Scotia by divers on a private fishing vessel.

The Mounties said the captain of the Slave Driver told the Canadian Coast Guard Vessel Sir William Alexander around 6 p.m. Saturday that divers had visually confirmed that there were no bodies in the Miss Ally.

Supt. Sylvie Bourassa-Muise said according to the information police received, the divers also found that no wheelhouse or sleeping quarters were attached to the vessel's hull.

For Hopkins, the details of the missing wheelhouse was decisive and crushing news. He said that no wheelhouse meant that the Miss Ally's life-raft was also torn away.

"With the wheelhouse gone, I think things happened so fast, they didn't have a chance to get in the life-raft. It would be false hope to continue," he said.