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KENT — A French diver with ties to Connecticut is among the five people on a submersible vessel that disappeared Sunday during a tour of the Titanic shipwreck site.

Paul-Henry Nargeolet, 77, is the underwater research program director for RMS Titanic, Inc. — a company whose mission is to preserve the legacy of the Titanic and has conducted eight research expeditions to the wreckage site since 1987 — and has lived in South Kent for several years, according to the Kent Library Association Board, of which he’s been a member since 2015. He has also lived in Greenwich.

He was on a tour of the Titanic with private research and tourism company OceanGate Expeditions when the submersible vessel he was on vanished off the coast of southeastern Canada Sunday morning.

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A Coast Guard search commenced after the vessel lost contact with the Canadian research vessel Polar Prince during a dive 900 miles east of Cape Cod. Nargeolet is on board the vessel with OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, wealthy British businessman Hamish Harding, Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman Dawood.

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Rescuers estimate as of midday Tuesday that the five passengers had about 41 hours of oxygen left on the vessel, meaning they would run out on Thursday morning. The sub initially had a 96-hour oxygen supply. U.S. Coast Guard officials said the search covered 10,000 square miles but turned up no sign of the lost sub known as the Titan, which has made multiple dives to the Titanic wreckage site.

“This is a very complex search, and the unified team is working around the clock,” Cpt. Jamie Frederick of the First Coast Guard District in Boston told a news conference.

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He added that an underwater robot had started searching in the vicinity of the Titanic and that there was a push to get salvage equipment to the scene in case the sub is found.

Nargeolet is no stranger to exploring the Titanic wreckage. He’s led several expeditions to the Titanic and at least 30 submersible dives, salvaging more than 5,500 artifacts from the debris field near the wreck.

"I wonder, why are people so fascinated with the Titanic after a century?" Nargeolet said in a 2012 interview for the Greenwich Time. "I think everyone can find something they like in it. Onboard, there were rich people, poor people and immigrants coming to North America pursuing a dream."

After serving more than 20 years in the French Navy, he joined the French Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea and was in charge of deep submersibles, as well as the institute’s technical research office, according to his profile on the Kent Library Association Board webpage.

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Nargeolet has been RMS Titanic, Inc.’s director of underwater research since 2007, according to his LinkedIn page.

In a 2019 interview conducted by the Irish Examiner with Nargeolet, the expert was "matter-of-fact" about the risk associated with traveling to the Titanic site, according to the outlet.

“If you are 11m or 11km down, if something bad happens, the result is the same,” he said at the time. “When you’re in very deep water, you’re dead before you realize that something is happening, so it’s just not a problem.”

The submersible vessel departed around 6 a.m. Sunday, and its support vessel lost contact with it about an hour and 45 minutes later, according to the Coast Guard. The vessel was reported overdue about 435 miles south of St. John’s, Newfoundland, according to Canada’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax, Nova Scotia.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

One of the five people onboard a submersible that went missing on its way to the wreckage site of the Titanic has ties to Connecticut.

Paul-Henri “PH” Nargeolet, an underwater researcher and highly regarded Titanic expert, lived in both South Kent and Greenwich, records show.

The 77-year-old French deep sea explorer is one of five men on board the OceanGate Expeditions’ Titan, which lost signal shortly after submerging in the ocean bound for the wreckage of the Titanic. The vessel’s communication systems stopped about an hour and 45 minutes after the Titan submerged, The Associated Press reported.

The US Coast Guard is bringing in more ships, vessels to search for lost Titanic tourist submersible

The full scope of the search was twice the size of Connecticut in waters 2 ½ miles deep, according to the First Coast Guard District.

Nargeolet, who now resides in Duchess County, New York, is the director of underwater research for RMS Titanic, Inc., which owns the salvage rights to the Titanic wreck and manages artifacts at many Titanic exhibitions, according to the company’s website.

The company tweeted a statement on Wednesday, lauding Nargeolet’s expertise on the Titanic wreck site.

“Paul-Henry (PH) Nargeolet is a precious member of the RMS Titanic, Inc. family whose passion for Titanic and diving led him to complete over 35 submersible dives, more than anyone, and his knowledge of the wreck site is unparalleled,” the company said in their statement. “We trust and have faith his experience will help navigate this critical situation.”

pic.twitter.com/nsyKy5jYdZ

— RMS Titanic, Inc. (@RMSTitanic_Inc) June 21, 2023

Also on board the vessel are pilot and OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush, billionaire Hamish Harding and father and son Shahzada and Suleman Dawood. A ride to the shipwreck costs approximately $250,000, multiple media outlets have reported.

According to property records and Sotheby’s International Realty, Nargeolet owned a 1700’s house called Pond Meadow Farm nestled on 28 acres in Litchfield County’s South Kent until 2022, when the home sold for nearly $2.5 million, according to Zillow.

Nargeolet was a member of the Kent Memorial Library board while living in South Kent. He joined the board in 2015, according to the library’s website.

The library board published a brief biography of Nargeolet, who served 25 years in the French Navy where he was a captain of the Deep Submergence Group of the Navy, the library said.

His career in deep-sea diving spanned decades and included work for the French Institute for the Exploitation of the Sea and several expeditions to the Titanic site, according to the Kent Memorial Library.

Nargeolet was also part of a team that discovered a “biodiverse abyssal ecosystem” near the Titanic wreck on a previously unknown basalt formation, according to OceanGate.

During an expedition in 2022, explorers discovered the “extremely productive and dense ecosystem” about 2,900 meters deep. The discovery was preliminarily named Nargeolet-Fanning Ridge in Nargeolet’s honor, OceanGate said.

In its statement on Twitter this week, RMS Titanic, Inc. president Jessica Sanders said, “We are devastated with the news, but remain steadfast in a hope for a safe rescue for all. PH is more than a colleague, he is a friend. No one has more experience at the wreck site than PH, and no one has a better chance of navigating through equipment failures than he does. We remain hopeful.”

Experts estimated that the submersible will likely run out of its oxygen supply by Thursday morning, according to multiple media reports.

On Wednesday, Canadian military aircraft detected underwater noises near the area that was being searched, but nothing had been found yet in connection with the noises, according to the First Coast Guard District for the United States Coast Guard Northeast.

Coast Guard officials were bringing in more ships and other vessels to search the area, though the exact location of the sounds had not yet been narrowed down, the AP reported. The Coast Guard said that three vessels arrived on-scene Wednesday morning, including the John Cabot, which has side-scanning sonar capabilities, the Skandi Vinland and the Atlantic Merlin.

It is that time of year again, when we start to preview the top prep programs in New England.

This year, we are going to begin with the local teams who will take part in the National Prep Showcase, held November 18th-20th at Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Connecticut.

South Kent School heads into the 2022-23 season with expectations to make serious noise in NEPSAC AAA.

3 Things You Need to Know About This Year’s Team

They brought in Elmarko Jackson and a pair of other impact class of 2023 transfers

Recent Kansas commit Elmarko Jackson was one of the most important offseason additions for any program in New England. He has proven to be one of the nation’s top guards with his blend of impressive athleticism, playmaking, defensive tenacity, and three-point shooting improvement. Seattle native Isaiah Watts is another guard who will provide scoring punch. He can make treys on spot-up/pull-up attempts, mid-range shots off the dribble, while also having handles/vision to provide impact playing on the ball. Another floor spacer brought in from North Carolina was Trey Boyd. The wing has clean mechanics with deep range, having the ability to hit three-pointers off the catch/move/dribble.

There is more talent on the way

While there the senior class has a number of terrific players, Coach Chillious has various underclassmen in the fold who are waiting in the wings. The 2025 guard combo of Jaryn Aguiar and Isaiah Young pair with 6’10 freshman who is a native of Nigeria. Young’s brother Nehemiah as well as Bryce Bennett also have bright futures in the class of 2026.

They are not backing down from anyone

South Kent is playing a schedule that is as difficult as anyone’s in New England. As already stated, they will be competing in next month’s National Prep Showcase. On top of that, appearances in the Zero Gravity Prep Classic, BasketBull Hoopfest, Jumpman Holiday Classic, and HoopHall Prep Showcase. This all on top of their regular league games in the NEBL and NEPSAC AAA. This gauntlet of a schedule gives them an opportunity to increase their resume for the National Prep Championship in March.

3 Questions Heading into the Season

How far can Elmarko Jackson lead this group?

With now being the top ranked New England player in the 247 rankings, Jackson certainly has a target on his back. With their very difficult schedule, they will face a number of ups and downs. How he helps them navigate through those times will be vital in how successful they are. While he is the clear lead dog on this squad, as we have gone through, there is a lot of other talent on the squad. Him and Michigan commit Papa Kante are also one of the best duos that New England has to offer.

Who will emerge in the junior class?

We talked about some freshman/sophomores in an earlier point. It will likely take most of them time before truly contributing on the top team. With this mind, some juniors will need to step up so a burden can be taken off the seniors. The two highlight names who are transferring in are Jason Schofield and Jacob Hogarth. Schofield is a forward who can stretch the floor from deep, initiate fast breaks, and create second chance opportunities on the glass. Hogarth is a strong bodied big man with finishing touch and defensive rebounding ability. JoJo Wallace and Oliver Jones also return and will have opportunities to compete for a spot on the top team this year.

How quick will it take for them to gel?

While it is clear they have a substantial amount of talent, a lot of the players have never played an official game together. The only returner who played meaningful minutes last year is Papa Kante. How quickly the team comes together with each other's individual play styles is an important element. It will be something to watch early in the season with them getting thrown right into the fire with their schedule.

As the search continues for the Titan submersible and its five passengers, local attention has turned to two people with Connecticut ties who have boarded the craft that takes adventurers 12,500 feet below the surface to see the wreck of the RMS Titanic.

CBS News reporter and Westport resident David Pogue visited the wreckage in November 2022, and Mike Reiss, American television writer best known for "The Simpsons" who grew up in Bristol, also visited the Titanic last year with his wife.

One of the passengers now aboard the Titan is South Kent resident Paul-Henry Nargeolet, who is the underwater research program director for RMS Titanic Inc., a company that preserves the legacy of the Titanic and has conducted eight research expeditions to the wreckage site since 1987.

Pogue declined to comment, citing roughly 300 media requests and his latest work updating his previous story on his experiences. He said in his previous story they departed on an eight-day trip from St. John's, Newfoundland, which is the easternmost tip of North America. That is about 400 miles from the Titanic wreck location.

"Not going to lie, I was a little nervous," Pogue said in his November CBS Sunday Morning report.

However, the day they were supposed to go, the expedition manager said the waves would be too high to launch the submarine.

But he still was able to visit the Continental Shelf, about 80 miles from the wreck. The submersible made it 37 feet underwater, when the floats fell off the platform that holds the submarine, canceling the trip.

But then, on day six of the trip, the sub finally took off to the Titanic.

Pogue said there is no GPS underwater, so the surface ship guides the sub by sending text messages. On this trip, though, communication did not work and the Titan did not reach the wreck.

On the last day of the trip, the sub made it to the wreck site.

In his report, Pogue read aloud from the waiver, which said it was "an experimental submersible vessel that has not been approved or certified by any regulatory body and could result in physical injury, disability, emotional trauma or death."

During a June 20 episode of CBS Mornings, Pogue said, "This adventure travel industry is dangerous — going up in the rockets, going to the volcanoes — everybody knows the risks involved."

Pogue said the typical trip is about 10 to 12 hours, taking more than two hours to reach the Titanic. But the fact that it has not been found makes his blood run cold.

Reiss talked about his 2022 visit to the Titanic on his podcast, "What Am I Doing Here?"

He compared this sub to a Stormtrooper's Helmet, calling it "white and bulbous. He called it cool from the front, but in the back had foam blocks to improve buoyancy,

Reiss said the sub had multiple setbacks, including the COVID-19 pandemic, days of rough seas and a situation where a system failure occurred, trapping multiple people inside for 27 hours.

"The number of disasters preceding this trip was amazing when you see how simple a mini-sub is," he said.

"Sink like a sub, then pop up like a cork," he added.

Reiss said when they got to the bottom, the sonar and compass didn't work.

He said it took them a long time to find the wreck, and when they did, "It wasn't overwhelming; it wasn't underwhelming; it was whelming."

Reiss said the only real danger happened within the last minute of the trip, when the sub turned vertically while being hoisted onto the sub, where everybody and everything fell to the back of it.

This week, parents from around the country had to scramble to pick up campers right here in Connecticut.

Camp Shane, which is described on its website as a medically supervised weight loss camp, closed its doors in Kent Tuesday.

The overnight camp had scheduled to run more sessions of camp throughout the summer at The South Kent School, but camp owner David Ettenberg said he just didn’t have enough staffing to keep it open.

He said staff members kept quitting because they didn’t want to stay on-campus per camp COVID-19 safety procedures.

“Devastating, really devastating. I love this camp. I love the kids. I know that parents are really, really relying on us,” said Ettenberg, who says he let parents and guardians know about the camp closure a couple of days ago.

Meanwhile, the Office of Early Childhood and Department of Children and Families say they’re investigating “the health, safety, and well being of children” who were enrolled at the weight loss camp.

While the state wouldn’t release more details of the investigation involving minors, in a statement, they confirmed the closure. Loved ones we spoke to said they complained to the state.

“She says, ‘Mom. I don’t feel safe here anymore. I can’t stay here,” described Pamela Artigas of Vero Beach, Florida.

Artigas said when her 14-year-old started sharing concerning stories from Camp Shane and an overwhelmed counselor called her about a medical issue with her daughter at camp too, she hopped on a plane from Florida to pick up her daughter.

“Our kids have looked forward to an experience for six to nine weeks and their experience was a nightmare.”

She said her daughter's heart condition wasn't being handled properly, as promised, and when she went to pick her up, no one on staff thought to check if she was in fact her daughter's legal guardian.

"You pick a medically supervised camp for all of these reasons to know that they’re safe and monitored and yet they weren’t from day one. They weren’t."

Family members of other campers say their loved ones shared similar chaotic stories.

After one family picked up their camper, they showed NBC Connecticut a note they say was from the camp that said their loved one’s medication was stolen.

Others told us an 8-year-old was severely injured Saturday on an athletic field, which NBC Connecticut confirmed with first responders. Ettenberg said there were four adults present when the girl fell and an athletic goal post fell on her.

“He never told us, never told us there was a staffing shortage in the first place. He should have not opened the camp. I mean he didn’t have the right staffing,” said Artigas.

“I don't think that's really true. They were missing activities, yes, but they were always, always, always safe and really not until the last bunch of days the kids were happy,” said Ettenberg.

As an investigation continues, families we spoke to are also concerned about the pretty penny they already paid to keep their kids at camp a lot longer this summer.

"The camp's $10,000. It’s a lot of money for a lot of people. We take out loans, we save all year. And that’s not including the airfare and doctors appointments to get us clear to go there," said Aritgas, whose daughter was set to attend camp for a couple more weeks.

“We're getting all those people that money back right after that and the big hit for me financially but emotionally you know I’m very, I’m very sad about this,” said Ettenberg.