A Soldotna resident is dead and three other people are missing after a 22-foot-long boat capsized in Aialik Bay, which is near Seward and adjacent to Resurrection Bay.
According to a dispatch from Alaska State Troopers, they were notified by the U.S. Coast Guard of an overturned vessel around 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday. The craft, they say, had left Seward on Tuesday but then was unable to return “due to poor sea conditions and weather.”
A mayday had been received by the Coast Guard around 5:30 a.m., troopers wrote. A release from the Coast Guard says that, at that time, the craft was taking on water with four people aboard. A helicopter arrived to find the craft capsized.
According to the trooper dispatch, a nearby “good Samaritan” arrived in a boat and was able to recover the body 29-year-old Hayden Green, dead. Still missing are 60-year-old Joshua Green, of Seward; 29-year-old Caleb Green, of Anchorage; and an unidentified adult woman who troopers say will be named once her family are notified.
The Coast Guard searched an area of “approximately 95 square miles” for “a combined nine search hours” before suspending their search, their release says.
“We offer our deepest condolences to the loved ones impacted by this tragedy,” says Cmdr. Chris Svencer, the search mission coordinator, in the release. “Despite a quick response and extensive search efforts we have decided to suspend the active search. This decision is never easy and is only made after careful deliberation.”
Troopers say that they’ve activated the Alaska Dive, Search, Rescue and Recovery Team to attempt to locate the three missing people. As of 7 p.m. on Thursday, they had not been found.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
