KENT, Connecticut — Paul Henry Nargeolet is known to his neighbors in Kent simply as “P. H.” He is a lover of the Titanic and is also one of five crew members onboard the missing tourist submersible, which lost communication with the research vessel Sunday, 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod.
“I’m 82. I’ve met thousands of people really and of all the people I’ve ever met he was by far the most fascinating and interesting,” said Linda Josephy, who says she shared many dinners and lunches with Nargeolet and his wife, Michelle. “He would tell you the most amazing stories. I think a lot of people are Titanic lovers. You know, the stories are so interesting.”
The town of Kent, Connecticut is remote and neighbors on Spooner Hill Road are close.
Nargeolet was on the first human exhibition to the Titanic’s wreckage on the ocean floor in the 1980s and returned to it dozens of times. Josephy said he is the most gifted storyteller she knows.
Neighbors said Nargeolet sold his farm in Kent a year ago and moved more than a dozen miles away, across the border into New York’s Dutchess County. Prior to that, he lived in Greenwich.
On Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Coast Guard officials in Boston said search efforts have not yielded any results.
“Heartfelt thoughts and prayers for five crew members their families and their loved ones,” said Capt. Jamie Frederick in Boston.
A ride to the shipwreck costs $250,000 dollars. OceanGate, which put on the trip, said on its website that onboard life support capabilities last four days. By Tuesday, search efforts covered 7,600 square miles in an area larger than the state of Connecticut.
In Kent, the community is holding out hope the submersible is found and their resident Titanic expert comes back to tell more tales of the fallen ship.
“If there was a nuance to a story, he always put his finger right on it and just made it live,” Josephy said.
Tuesday afternoon U.S. Coast Guard officials said they intend to search for another 24 hours in coordination with Canadian and private efforts.
Samaia Hernandez is a reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at shernandez@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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