Joseph Masson, 73, was last spotted leaving Cairnbulg Harbour near Fraserburgh in northwest Scotland back over three years ago – but police believe his body has now been found in Norway
The body of a British fisherman who went missing more than three years ago has been found on an island in Norway.
Joseph Masson, 73, was last seen on his boat close to Cairnbulg Harbour, near Fraserburgh in northwest Scotland, on Saturday October 16 2021. He had left his home in Fraserburgh at around 10am that day to go out on his boat, and was last seen at around 1.30pm aboard the vessel. His family reported himmissing after he failed to return home and a huge search was launched involving police, HMS Coastguard, the Ministry of Defence and the RNLI.
Today, Police Scotland confirmed that his body had been discovered on the island of Sula in Norway, around 370 miles away from Fraserburgh. Although formal identification has yet to be made, Mr Masson’s family have been informed.
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The skipper’s body was discovered in March, a whole three years and five months after he was first reported missing. Mr Masson’s ship, The Goodway, was found during a search and rescue operation in Aberdeenshire on the evening of his disappearance.
A probe by the UK Marine Accident Investigation Board (MAIB) concluded that the skipper had fallen overboard while trying to free creels (baited traps) that had become stuck in rocks on the seabed. It was presumed that the “loving dad” and “good friend to many” had fallen overboard.
In November 2021, his family held a memorial service in which they raised money for Fraserburgh Lifeboat. The Trøndelag Police District were called to an islet near Sula on March 9 after two workers discovered human remains and wet-weather workwear.
Police Chief Inspector Frode Reiten, regional ID coordinator for Kripos in Central Norway, told local media: “The condition of the body indicates that the person had been in the water for a long time. A Kripos employee at the Interpol office used information from the Sula discovery to search their databases. That led to a match with a missing person case where the clothing seemed consistent.”
DNA samples were sent to Oslo University Hospital before Mr Masson’s family were notified. Prosecutor Elisabeth Strand Bachmann, from the Trøndelag Police District, said: “Although this is a tragic accident, we hope the discovery brings some comfort to the family”.
Police in Scotland said they did not believe there were any suspicious circumstances surrounding his death. Mr Masson was described as a “well-known” fisherman in the local area, who had more than 50 years of experience. He and his late wife, Kathleen, ran a local pub together for 20 years before retiring in 2011. A Police Scotland spokesperson said: “We can confirm a body was discovered on the island of Sula on the north-west coast of Norway in March 2025.
“Inquiries are at an early stage and formal identification is yet to take place. However, the family of Joseph Masson, 73, who was last seen on Saturday October 16 2021 on his boat not far from Cairnbulg Harbour, Cairnbulg, Fraserburgh, has been informed. Officers are liaising with the relevant authorities. There are not believed to be any suspicious circumstances surrounding the death and a report will be sent to the Procurator Fiscal.”
It is not the first time a person known to have disappeared off the coast of the UK has been found washed up in Norway. In 2021, police confirmed that the body of a baby found on the coast of Norway was a missing 15-month-old who died along with four family members when their dinghy sank in the English Channel.
His Kurdish-Iranian family had been attempting to reach the UK from France, and his remains were flown back to Iran to be buried. There have also been multiple cases of people who entered the water on the east coast of Ireland later turning up on British beaches.
Bernadette Mary Connolly was reported missing by her family in Ireland on January 7, 2022, before her body was discovered in Blackpool just a few weeks later. An inquest held in the UK heard the 49-year-old’s coat and handbag, which contained her mobile phone, had been discovered at Donabate Beach near Dublin.
