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The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a Tulalip Tribal Police Department Officer missing in the waters near Naval Station Everett on the Snohomish River.

Of the two crew members who went missing after their vessel capsized in rough waters, only one has been recovered.

At 8:48 p.m. Tuesday, Coast Guard in Puget Sound received notification from Officer Bernie Edge that a two-man crew had capsized their 26-foot work skiff. Officer Edge said that the vessel was heading out of the jetty when they reported the seas were rough and that they were taking water over the bow.

At 11:50 p.m. one survivor was recovered near Hat Island by a civilian vessel participating in the search. The survivor reported that he last saw his partner 30 minutes prior to being recovered. He was transported to emergency service technicians for medical care.

Navy Whidbey Island Search and Rescue located the capsized vessel submerged approximately 2 feet below the water line.

Multiple federal, state, local and Tribal crews searched for more than 22 hours. Crews involved in the search included:
Coast Guard Station Seattle;
Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles;
Coast Guard Cutter Sea Lion;
Tulalip Tribal Police Department;
Navy Whidbey Island Search and Rescue;
Naval Station Everett Security Teams;
Everett Fire Department Marine Units ;
Everett Police Dive Units;
Snohomish County Sheriffs Department Marine Units;
Washington State Ferry Service;
Approximately 40 good Samaritan vessels from the Talulip Tribal Fishing Fleet

“The Coast Guard and our Navy, state, local and Tribal partners saturated the waters of the Snohomish River to locate the missing police officer, but, unfortunately we were not able to find him after an extensive search,” said Lt. Zachary Kearney, the Sector Puget Sound command duty officer. “The decision to suspend a search is one of the most difficult decisions the Coast Guard has to make. We search as if one of our own is missing. Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the missing Tulalip Tribal officer.”

The search is suspended pending further developments. If anyone has information regarding the whereabouts of the Tulalip Tribal officer, please call Sector Puget Sound at 206-217-6001.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

A 26-foot Coast Guard Aids to Navigation Boat capsized Saturday with four crew members aboard near Pier 39 in Astoria.

Four Coast Guardsmen were aboard the vessel conducting routine operations when the capsizing occurred, caused by a series of heavy wakes that came over the bow, which capsized the vessel.

At 11:39 a.m., four Personal Locator Beacon alerts registered to Coast Guard in Astoria., which correlated with multiple good Samaritans’ reports of visual distress signals in the vicinity of Pier 39 in Astoria, Oregon.

At approximately 11:50 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Columbia River issued an urgent marine information broadcast (UMIB) and directed a Coast Guard Air Station Astoria MH-60 Jayhawk crew and a Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew to respond.

Hearing the broadcast, at 12:09 p.m., crew members aboard the Columbia Bar Pilot vessel Connor Foss contacted the Coast Guard reporting they had recovered the four Coast Guardsmen from the water.

Clatsop County Sheriff Marine Unit towed the capsized vessel to the 17th Street pier.

All persons involved are reported to be in healthy condition after being evaluated at Columbia Memorial Hospital.

Vessels are responsible for the damage caused by their wake. In this case a risky capsize that could have resulted in injury or death. The Coast Guard has initiated the mishap board review process.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

A Coast Guard aircrew medevaced a 16-year-old Sitka Wilderness Therapy student experiencing chest pains on Duffield Peninsula, approximately 30 miles north of Sitka, Alaska, Sunday evening. The aircrew safely hoisted the patient from a narrow tidal flat to awaiting emergency medical services personnel in Sitka for further care.

An early evening call from the Sitka Wilderness Therapy team leader indicated that a student was experiencing chest pains throughout the afternoon while on a hike near Duffield Peninsula. The aircrew was dispatched to the area of Peril Strait and was able to land on a rocky area between the shoreline and treeline. They used a light and a signal flare and communicated with the helicopter directly with a portable VHF radio thus eliminating searching and made entry into the unprepared landing zone very quick and uneventful. The patient was transferred in good condition to Sitka EMS for further care.

by Tom Evans, Injury at Sea. Continue Reading

Tribal, Coast Guard and local partners responded to an emergency landing of a Beechcraft airplane with two people aboard in the vicinity of Annette Island, Alaska, Friday.

Metlakatla police and fire rescue boat crews were first to arrive on scene and transported the two survivors to Metlakatla Clinic for medical care.

Reportedly the pilot of the BE18 Beechcraft missed the approach to the Ketchikan Airport due to icing on the airplane, diverted for an emergency landing on Annette Island but had to make an emergency landing in the water in Smuggler’s Cove near Annette Island.

A Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crew located and rescued three survivors of a plane crash from a ridgeline landing strip in the vicinity of the Chakachatna River, in the Kenai Peninsula Borough, Monday evening.

The Jayhawk crew landed, brought the three survivors aboard and transported them to awaiting emergency medical personnel at Anchorage International Airport. Both passengers and the pilot reported no injuries.

The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center notified the CG with possible, approximate location of the fixed-wing Cessna at approximately 2 p.m. Monday. The plane had been missing since Sunday afternoon.

Two survivors of a plane crash were saved at the mouth of the King Salmon River, approximately 184 miles west of Kodiak, Alaska, Monday evening. The weather was reported as three miles of visibility, 11-mph winds and snowing.

A Coast Guard Jayhawk crew hoisted and transported the two survivors to awaiting emergency medical personnel in Kodiak. Both the passenger and the pilot were reported to be in stable condition, the passenger with an apparent arm injury, and the pilot apparent back and neck injuries.
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40 kids and six adults stranded in a cabin with no power and unable to drive out of the camp due to trees blocking the roads at Camp David on Lake Crescent, were rescued on Friday.

A 29-foot Coast Guard Response Boat-Small II ferried groups of seven to nine passengers from Camp David to a bus waiting at Marymere Falls trailhead. Each trip between the camp and the trailhead took more than 50 minutes and with six trips needed, the Port Angeles boatcrew worked for more than seven hours to get everyone to safety.

No injuries were reported at the time of the rescue.

A green laser light was pointed at a Coast Guard helicopter as the aircrew was making a final approach to Air Station Port Angeles, at 8:23 p.m., Monday.

The Coast Guard Air Station Port Angeles flight crew aboard, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter, safely landed after being illuminated for about one second, and were checked out by the duty corpsman who medically cleared the crew to resume duty at about 10:30 p.m. Monday.

The laser strike was reported to Air Station Port Angeles and local police by the aircrew. The laser light came from the vicinity of 4th and Hill Street in Port Angeles.

A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew rescued a pilot after his float plane crashed approximately 26 miles west of Ketchikan, Alaska, Monday night.

The helicopter crew located the plane wreckage on the shoreline of a lake on Prince of Wales Island, hoisted the man and transported him to Ketchikan airport where he was met by awaiting emergency medical services personnel. No serious injuries were reported.

Coast Guard 17th District command center watchstanders received an Electronic Locator Transmitter (ELT) alert for a single Piper Tri-Pacer float plane. Coast Guard watchstanders immediately contacted Ketchikan Flight Service Station who stated they last communicated with the pilot at 5:15 p.m. but had lost contact shortly after. A Sitka helicopter crew was launched to search.

A Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor crew aboard a 29-foot Response Boat-Small II rescued a man who was swept out to sea while wading in the water near the Grays Harbor north jetty at Ocean Shores, Washington, Sunday.

The man, in his early twenties, who drifted approximately 300 yards past the tip of the jetty, was rescued from the water by the small boat crew, treated for hypothermia, and taken back to Station Grays Harbor where he was met by local emergency medical services for further medical care.

Watch standers at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River received the call from personnel at Grays Harbor County 911 dispatch about the man in the water without a life jacket, who was reported as being swept away from the jetty and calling for help. Sector Columbia River directed the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station Astoria MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and the Station Grays Harbor small boat crew.