Overview
- A Coast Guard aircrew located a 15-year-old clinging to an overturned 18-foot skiff about four miles east of St. Lawrence Island on Monday, Sept. 7, and coordinated his recovery with the vessel Northwest Explorer.
- Two other people who had been aboard the skiff were found unresponsive in the water, recovered by the good Samaritan boat, and transported with the survivor to Nome for processing and medical care.
- Coast Guard and state watchstanders began searching after Alaska State Troopers reported the boat overdue Sunday evening, but weather and poor visibility prevented aircraft from launching until Monday morning.
- The HC-130 crew deployed a raft and survival equipment and used a line of flares to guide the Northwest Explorer to the capsized skiff while the ship’s crew warmed the teen, who showed symptoms of hypothermia.
- Family members have identified the survivor and said the capsize followed a fishing line tangling the motor with the boy’s brother and cousin dying in the incident, a sequence reported by relatives but not officially confirmed by authorities.