Boating accident south of Sitka claims one life

Update (7-29-25):
Alaska State Troopers have identified a Sitkan who died after the boat she was in capsized on July 20, about six miles south of Sitka.

In a statement on Monday (7-28-25) Troopers identified the individual as 35-year-old Meichen Plumhoff. Troopers say Plumhoff’s body was taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Anchorage. 

Around 5 p.m. on July 20, first responders and good Samaritan boaters in Sitka responded to reports of a capsized skiff and an overturned kayak in the Redoubt Bay area, with two people overboard. A good Samaritan boater recovered Plumhoff from the nearby water. She was moved to a rescue vessel and received medical treatment from first responders while they boated back to Sitka. She was then transported to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center where she was pronounced dead. Plumhoff’s next of kin were notified later that evening. |

The second boater, an unnamed man, was taken to shore by another good Samaritan vessel, where he was seen by first responders.

Troopers say an investigation is ongoing. 

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Initial Report:

A 35-year-old woman has died after the vessel she was on capsized near Sitka on Sunday (7-20-25).

The Coast Guard is investigating the accident and has not yet released her name.

Around 5 p.m. on Sunday, Air Station Sitka received reports of a capsized skiff and an overturned kayak in the Redoubt Bay area, each with one person on board. A Coast Guard helicopter crew, an emergency response vessel from the Sitka Fire Department, and several nearby boaters responded to the calls that came in over VHF radio. 

In an email to KCAW, Coast Guard public affairs officer John Hightower said the man operating the skiff, which was a Boston Whaler, was rescued by a nearby good Samaritan boater– he was taken to emergency responders who were waiting on shore in Sitka.

Hightower said the woman was recovered from the water by another good Samaritan. She was then transferred to the Sitka Fire Department vessel, and the Coast Guard helicopter crew lowered a rescue swimmer onto the boat to help with medical treatment while they headed back to town.

Fire Chief Craig Warren said the crew made it back to Sitka shortly after 6 o’clock, where an ambulance was waiting to take the unresponsive woman to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center. Hightower said she was pronounced deceased at the hospital. He said the woman’s next of kin have been notified.