HILLSBURN, N.S. – One of the six missing scallop fishers was found dead late Tuesday evening as teams search the shores near a Nova Scotia village for the remaining five.

Rev. Bob Elliott, the pastor of the Hillsburn United Baptist Church, says the community will remain hopeful until they’re told not to be.

Near the scene along the Bay of Fundy, earlier on Tuesday, two empty life-rafts from the dragger washed ashore near his church in the village of about 250 people.

Jacob Jacquard, a fisherman, says high tides and wicked winds can rapidly transform the Bay of Fundy into a dangerous place to work.

Kent Molyneaux, search director for the Annapolis County Ground Search and Rescue Association, confirmed searchers had found objects “that indicate there was a boat in distress,” but he declined to be more specific.

Lt.-Cmdr. Brian Owens of the search and rescue co-ordination centre in Halifax says the search will continue as long as needed to find the missing people.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 16, 2020.