A Coast Guard crew from Air Station Sitka rescued a man earlier this week after his fishing boat sank near Murder Cove, on the southern tip of Admiralty Island.
A statement published by the Coast Guard on Wednesday (9-30-26) said the man was in stable condition. The fishing vessel Tyee had departed from Sitka on Friday, and was expected to arrive in Ketchikan after the weekend.
On Monday, the Coast Guard received word that the boater hadn’t been heard from since early Sunday morning. After unsuccessful attempts to contact him over VHF radio and by cell phone, the Coast Guard launched a helicopter from Air Station Sitka and the Petersburg-based Cutter Pike.
Around 3 p.m. a good Samaritan vessel found an ice chest and a life raft in Murder Cove. Around 5 p.m. the Coast Guard found the man on the shore of Admiralty Island, two miles east of the cove. The crew hoisted him aboard the helicopter and brought him back to Sitka. According to the release, the survivor told the crew that when the boat started taking on water and sank on Sunday, he put on a survival suit and jumped into a life raft. When the raft began taking on water, he swam to shore.
In the release, Coast Guard Commander Rianne Troutman said the man’s survival suit QUOTE “extended his survival time and gave our search crews the fighting chance needed to bring him home safely.” Troutman said the Coast Guard cannot overstate the importance of carrying proper survival gear, ensuring that equipment is accessible and filing a float plan before an emergency occurs.
