Tiffany Leigh has been unable to grieve properly in the months since the sinking of the Lily Jean.

Her boyfriend, Freeman Short, who grew up in Aroostook County, was one of seven people aboard the fishing vessel when it sank about 20 miles off Massachusetts in January.

The U.S. Coast Guard called off its search the following day. Short and five of the others on board have not been found.

“I can’t grieve (properly),” Leigh said. “I can’t go to his gravesite.”

In the months since the sinking, Leigh, 27, has been leading a push involving the loved ones of Short and some of the other lost mariners to convince authorities to try to bring their remains home.

“I’m fundraising by making T-shirts, starting petitions,” Leigh, of Natick, Massachusetts, said in an interview last week. “I don’t want to do this, but I really want him back.”

THE LILY JEAN

With Short on the Lily Jean were Capt. Accursio “Gus” Sanfilippo; crewmembers Paul Beal Sr., Paul Beal Jr., John Paul Rousanidis and Sean Therrien; and Jada Samitt, a fisheries observer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Officials say there was no mayday call when the 72-foot vessel sank while on its way back to Gloucester, Massachusetts, on Jan. 30.

“Ever since I got the call from his mom telling me the boat sank, I feel like I’ve been living in a nightmare,” Leigh said.

Sanfilippo’s body was recovered, but the other six have not been found.

The Coast Guard launched a search, covering about 1,000 square miles in 24 hours, but suspended it the following day.

Since then, Leigh and others have been raising funds, circulating petitions and contacting officials. She said she has reached out to the Coast Guard, the Navy, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey and members of Congress — to no avail.

The Coast Guard says it is still looking into the cause of the sinking, but that such an investigation is focused on determining what happened to prevent future tragedies, not on recovering remains.

“From an investigation’s perspective, we have not identified a need to salvage the vessel to complete our investigation,” the Coast Guard’s Northeast District investigation team said in a statement.

Leigh objects to that reasoning. She believes that retrieving the ship and any data aboard would likely be of benefit.

“Even if it isn’t, his body isn’t just evidence and remains,” she said.

And while the Coast Guard doesn’t have the capabilities for a subsurface recovery, Leigh said she’s been told the Navy does — but the Coast Guard would need to request its help.

Coast Guard public affairs officer Alex Gray said the agency occasionally partners with the Navy for subsurface recovery based on various factors, including the needs of the investigation. He said when a vessel is not recovered, the Coast Guard’s investigations rely on witness statements, tracking data and communications records.

Weeks after the sinking, Massachusetts officials held a news conference where they pledged to continue investigating but emphasized the difficulty of recovering the vessel and mariners from an area where depths reach more than 300 feet, the Boston Globe reported.

The Globe reported that crews investigating the sinking found debris and an empty life raft.

‘HE WAS MY HOME’

Short, 31, was a fourth-generation fisherman from Presque Isle, an avid outdoorsman known for his hard work and sense of humor, and a sergeant in the Maine Army National Guard who was proud to serve his country.

The couple met 2 1/2 years ago, Leigh said.

“I’ve never met anyone as kind and with as good a moral compass as him,” she said. “It really felt like he was my home. He’s the love of my life.”

Short’s sister Lydia said days after the sinking that her brother had planned to propose to Leigh when he returned and hoped to settle down with her in Massachusetts.

Friends, family and those he served in the military with have said Short had a special knack for making people laugh.

“He was silly, but he didn’t let everyone see that side of him,” Leigh said.

Short was a member of Bravo Company, 3rd Battalion, 172nd Infantry Regiment, a mountain warfare unit in the Maine Army National Guard based in Brewer. His 13 years of service included a deployment to the Horn of Africa in 2021. While serving his country and working in commercial fishing, Short also studied at the University of Maine.

“This infantryman, who’s fishing on the side to make money and pursuing a degree,” Capt. Zachary Dalrymple, who served with Short for about a decade, said after the sinking. “That’s not something you typically hear.”

And Short was a proud Mainer.

“Freeman loved growing up in Maine,” Leigh said. “He was in Presque Isle for all of his childhood.”

STILL PUSHING

The loved ones of Rousanidis, a Massachusetts resident who was also lost at sea, are also pushing for a renewed recovery operation.

Keri Rousanidis said her brother “was strong, hardworking, loyal, and the kind of person who made people feel safe and cared for.”

While she understands the risks involved in resuming the search, Rousanidis said she believes the six people lost at sea “deserve every possible effort to be brought home.”

“There are no words for what it feels like to wake up every morning knowing your loved one is still out there beneath the ocean, with no closure and no way to bring them home yourself,” Rousanidis said in a written statement.

Members of Short’s family have also been reaching out to private dive teams, Leigh said.

“They all said it’s more than doable,” she said, but it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Still, by any means, Leigh is determined to bring Short home.

“I knew he wasn’t coming back” once the search was called off, Leigh said. “I had no idea we would be going through all of this just to get his body.”

This story contains reporting from The Associated Press.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on May 14 to correct information about where Leigh hopes to return Short’s remains.