Vanished at Sea: Revisiting the Mysterious Death of Linda Carman

On the night of Sept. 17, 2016, Nathan Carman and his mother, Linda Carman, left a South Kingstown, Rhode Island, marina aboard Nathan's fishing boat, Chicken Pox, bound for an early-morning fishing spot south of Block Island. A few hours after their departure all contact with the pair was lost.

Coast Guard search teams mounted an expansive operation that covered an area of ocean larger than the state of Georgia, but after days of sweeping the water they called off the search on Sept. 24 without locating the boat or the missing pair. The next day, a freighter reported spotting a life raft more than 100 miles from the last known location of Chicken Pox. Rescuers pulled Nathan aboard alive and in good health; he told them he had survived on emergency rations and desalinated water and that his mother had drowned. Linda's body was never recovered.

The circumstances surrounding the disappearance and rescue have prompted intense scrutiny. A recent documentary, The Carman Family Deaths, reexamines Nathan's rescue, his upbringing in a prominent Greek American family, and two deaths that left investigators and relatives with lingering questions.

Linda, 54 at the time of her disappearance, was the only child of real estate developer John Chakalos, who reportedly amassed a substantial fortune. Family members say Chakalos was close to his grandson, providing financial support during Nathan's youth. Nathan was diagnosed in childhood with autism spectrum disorder and, following his parents' divorce, spent time living in a camper outside his mother's home.

Investigators first focused on Nathan after Chakalos was shot to death in his bed on Dec. 20, 2013, shortly after sharing a meal with his grandson. Authorities say Nathan discarded a GPS device from his truck and disposed of a hard drive; he also told police he had misplaced a recently purchased semiautomatic rifle that used the same type of ammunition later found in Chakalos's body. Prosecutors ultimately said they lacked sufficient proof to bring charges in that killing.

Three years later Nathan used some inheritance money to buy Chicken Pox. The boat was equipped with a radio and flares, but Nathan admitted to investigators that he did not send a distress call and did not fire flares once in the life raft. Those admissions, along with other evidence gathered during the inquiry, led several relatives to conclude the outing was staged and raised suspicions about his role in his mother's disappearance.

“This whole situation is just one big Greek tragedy,” Linda's sister Charlene Gallagher says in the documentary.

In May 2022 Nathan pleaded not guilty to charges alleging he murdered his mother. The case did not reach trial: while in custody on June 15, 2023, Nathan died by suicide in his jail cell. For many family members and others in the community, the death left both Linda and John without legal closure.

The documentary combines archival footage, interviews with relatives and investigators, and new reporting to examine how wealth, family tensions and unanswered questions intersect in two deaths that continue to haunt the Carman family and the Block Island community. Important facts remain unresolved — including how and why Linda disappeared at sea and whether criminal responsibility can ever be conclusively determined.