Dozens of residents of the Passamaquoddy Tribe’s Pleasant Point reservation joined the effort Tuesday to find the body of a man from Pleasant Point who apparently drowned after his canoe capsized Sunday in Half Moon Cove.

More than 50 people from Pleasant Point assisted local and state authorities with the search for Majik Francis, 23. His body was not found.

In addition to searching the shoreline, the Maine Marine Patrol flew an airplane over the area where Francis was last seen and launched two boats.

The recovery mission is scheduled to resume Wednesday morning, said Jeff Nichols, spokesman for the Maine Marine Patrol.

“The Maine Marine Patrol has absolutely not given up,” Nichols said. “We have a lot of officers and assets committed to finding this young man.”

Nichols said Francis and two others – a man and a woman – were paddling to a site to dig for clams when the canoe capsized about 200 yards from shore. They were not wearing dry suits or life jackets.

Francis’ companions swam to shore, but he did not make it. Authorities said he was last seen clinging to the canoe. The water temperature in Half Moon Cove was around 50 degrees.

The Coast Guard was unable to find Francis after searching an area of 193 square miles over a 24-hour period. The Coast Guard suspended its search, which became a recovery mission by the Maine Marine Patrol. Nichols said it is still not clear to investigators why the canoe tipped over.

“It wasn’t terribly windy that day. It’s hard to tell what might have happened,” he said.

Members of the Pleasant Point community have rallied in an effort to bring closure to Francis’ loved ones. The Pleasant Point Police Department posted a message on its Facebook page Tuesday urging residents to volunteer to search the shoreline.

“We are hoping to cover the entire search area with your help,” the police department said.

Adam Newell, who lives at Pleasant Point, said he knows Francis’ father, whom he described as a spiritual leader in the community. He went to grade school with the younger Francis, who recently had a baby, according to Newell.

“Majic was really well liked at Pleasant Point,” said Newell.

Newell has been recruiting scuba divers to search the area where Francis was last seen. Newell is a scuba diver.

Newell said he is not surprised by the large number of people from the Passamaquoddy Tribe who have offered to help find Francis. He described Pleasant Point as a tightly knit community where people look out for one another.

“It’s part of being a community and being one with the community,” Newell said. “A family member is gone and you want to bring closure. In time of need, we put our differences aside, and we all become family.”

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