By Ted Cohen 

A federal fisheries officer who recently graduated from the University of Vermont is missing at sea, her family says.

Jada Samitt, 22, was working as a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries observer aboard a dragger that sank off Gloucester, Massachusetts on Friday.

Samitt was among seven crew members on the 72-foot Lily Jean, for which the Coast Guard has suspended its search.

“It is with profound sadness and shattered hearts that we share the loss of our beloved Jada,” her family said in a statement. “She was vibrant and compassionate with an infectious smile and spirit.

“And, above all, she was brave and determined. She fiercely loved her friends and family. Today we are lost without her.”

The University of Vermont confirmed that Samitt was a recent graduate.

“We are deeply saddened by the loss of one of our recent graduates in a tragedy at sea,” school spokesman Adam White said in a statement. “Our thoughts are with Jada Samitt’s family during this heartbreaking time.”

Samitt’s LinkedIn profile shows that she graduated last year after studying population dynamics and soil science.

She has been working as a fisheries observer only six months.

After covering more than 1,000 square miles, the U.S. Coast Guard said over the weekend it was suspending the search for the missing crew from the Lily Jean.

The Coast Guard had received an emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) around 6:50 a.m. Friday from the boat.

The agency was unable to make contact with the vessel and immediately launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and a small boat crew to begin searching the water for the boat.

Crews located a debris field in the vicinity of the EPIRB activation about 25 miles off the coast of Cape Ann.

One body, the ship’s longtime captain, Gus Sanfilippo, was located in the water, as well as an unoccupied life raft.

The cause of the incident remains under investigation.

UVM grad LinkedIn profile link: