Murder charge in Petit-de-Grat fisherman's death

RCMP have charged a 40-year-old man with second-degree murder and arrested two other men in connection with the death of a fisherman from Petit-de-Grat, a small fishing village in Cape Breton.

Craig Landry was arrested on Thursday and charged with murder in the death of Phillip Boudreau. Both men are from Petit-de-Grat, in the southeastern corner of Cape Breton Island.

Friday, police announced two more arrests. A 65-year-old man from Little Anse and a 43-year-old from Arichat were taken into custody. They have not been charged.

Landry appeared in Port Hawkesbury provincial court on Friday. He's due back in court on Monday.

Cape Breton RCMP spent several days searching for Boudreau, who was last seen alone on his boat in the harbour early Saturday morning.

About an hour after Boudreau was last seen, his boat was discovered overturned with the motor missing.

His body has not been recovered.

"He would never hurt anybody," said Tara Lynn Boudreau, Phillip Boudreau's niece.

"If he were to do something to you today, he'd give you the shirt off his back the next day."

Police officers told CBC News earlier in the week that they believed Boudreau was involved in an altercation with men on a larger boat. A vessel called the Twin Maggies, which is owned by C and D Fisheries Ltd. of D'Escousse, was seized as part of the investigation.

Tara Lynn Boudreau admitted her uncle sometimes poached lobsters from other fishermen's traps and that may be what caused the altercation leading to his death. But she said the amount involved was only a few dollars.

"It was $4 a pound or $3.75. I can give them back that $4 but what can they give me. They can't give me back my uncle," she told CBC News.

"He wasn't perfect, but who is?"

RCMP said divers and personnel from Nova Scotia Ground Search and Rescue are continuing to search the water and shoreline in an effort to find Boudreau's body.