Alcohol Withdrawal Blamed In Death

A fishing boat captain who suddenly leaped off his boat 75 miles from shore was suffering from hallucinations brought on by alcohol withdrawal, according to the FBI.

Douglas Brotherton, 44, died about an hour after a Coast Guard crew plucked him from the ocean on July 25. He had drowned, doctors determined.

The drowning initially was considered suspicious because of the circumstances surrounding Brotherton’s leap from his 48-foot boat, the Elsie.

Brotherton had issued a distress call the night before and reported the boat was taking on water. The Coast Guard was preparing to send help when his sole crewman, Herschell Jack Conklin, 68, reported there was no emergency.

The next day, Conlin told the Coast Guard that Brotherton was acting “crazy” and threatening to jump overboard. A few minutes later, Conklin radioed that Brotherton had leaped into the water 75 miles off Newport.

After a two-week investigation, the FBI ruled Brotherton’s death a suicide prompted by delirium tremens, which can occur when people who are addicted to alcohol or drugs abruptly cut off the source of their addiction. The FBI handled the case because the death occurred more than three miles at sea.