Coast Guard suspends search for 5 people missing in Gulf of Alaska
After searching for nearly a day, the U.S. Coast Guard said Monday that it "made the very difficult decision" to suspend its search efforts.
The U.S. Coast Guard has suspended its search for five people believed to have been aboard a fishing boat that capsized in cold waters in the Gulf of Alaska.
After searching for nearly a day and covering more than 108 square nautical miles, the Coast Guard said it "made the very difficult decision" to suspend the search pending any new information. Crews were battling challenging conditions as the area where the boat capsized was hit with heavy snow, winds up to 45 to 60 mph and 6-foot seas.
"We stand in sorrow and solidarity with the friends and family of the people we were not able to find over the past 24 hours," Chief Warrant Officer James Koon, a search and rescue mission coordinator at Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska, said Monday. "Our collective hearts are with the friends and families of those who are experiencing the effects from this loss."
The Coast Guard began its search Sunday after the fishing boat crew Wind Walker sent a mayday call at about 12:10 a.m. local time. The Wind Walker's crew reported that the 50-foot boat was overturning near Point Couverden, southwest of Alaska's capital, Juneau.
According to the Coast Guard, an emergency radio beacon registered to the boat was activated and alerted them that the distress signal originated just south of Point Couverden in the Icy Strait. Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska watchstanders tried to gather more information but received no response from the boat's crew.
With the help of good Samaritans, the Coast Guard said it mobilized a response that included various search assets. The state ferry Hubbard overheard the Coast Guard's urgent marine information broadcast and was the first to reach the scene.
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Sitka and a 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Station Juneau were sent to the scene. Two Coast Guard cutters, the Healy and the Douglas Denman, also were involved in the search.
According to the Coast Guard, crews discovered seven cold-water immersion suits and two strobe lights in the search area but did not find any of the crew members or the boat.
The Coast Guard had estimated that five people were aboard the Wind Walker when it capsized, citing reports from those familiar with the boat. The agency requested that anyone with new information on the incident contact Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska watchstanders.
Point Couverden is on the southeastern end of Couverden Island, a small island in Haines Borough, Alaska. Haines Borough had been under a winter storm warning, which was extended until Tuesday, according to the National Weather Service in Juneau.