Search for fishing vessel with 6 people goes into 2nd day

  • By Associated Press
  • Sunday, February 12, 2017 8:22pm
  • News

JUNEAU (AP) — The U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska is searching for a fishing boat with six people that has been missing in the Bering Sea for more than a day.

Ships and aircraft have looked through the night for the 98-foot-long F/V Destination, according to a news release from the agency on Sunday afternoon. The boat had six people on it and is owned by a company based in Seattle, Petty Officer 3rd Class Lauren Steenson said.

Brent Paine, executive director of the Seattle-based United Catcher Boats, said there are two vessels that fish off Alaska called the F/V Destination.

One of them is a trawler that belongs to his association, and is not the one that went missing. Paine said the other vessel – the target of the Coast Guard search – is a smaller vessel that has harvested crab. That vessel but it had been moored in Sand Point, Alaska, he said.

Paine said he does not know anyone on the boat.

The vessel’s electronic locating device was recovered Saturday morning in a debris field containing buoys, a life ring and an oil sheen.

The Coast Guard doesn’t yet know the cause of the boat’s disappearance or whether anyone survived, Steenson said.

Coast Guard crews helping in the search include two HC-130 Hercules airplane crews, two MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews, an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew and the Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau, the agency said.

People on the small island of St. George are looking along the shore for any signs of the crew. The Coast Guard didn’t say how many members were aboard or immediately respond to a call seeking more information.

The agency says the water temperature is 38 degrees.

More in News

People carrying flags and signs line the Sterling Highway for a “No Kings” protest in Soldotna, Alaska, on Saturday, June 14, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna ‘No Kings’ protest draws hundreds

The nationwide protest came the same day as a military parade organized at the behest of the Trump administration.

Council member Jordan Chilson speaks during a Soldotna City Council work session in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna council mulls change to meeting time

Meetings would be moved from 6 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. under a resolution set to be considered on June 25.

Mountain View Elementary School is photographed on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022 in Kenai, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Mountain View vandalized by children, police say

Staff who arrived at the school on Monday found significant damage, according to police.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy compares Alaska to Mississippi data on poverty, per-pupil education spending, and the 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress 4th grade reading scores during a press conference on Jan. 31, 2025. Alaska is highlighted in yellow, while Mississippi is in red. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Dunleavy vetoes education funding to $500 BSA increase

Per-student funding was increased by $700 in an education bill passed by the Alaska Legislature in May.

The entrance to the Kenai Peninsula Job Center is seen here in Kenai, Alaska on April 15, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion file)
Minimum wage increases to $13 per hour on July 1

Since 2014, Alaska’s minimum wage has increased from $7.75 to $11.91 through the Alaska Wage and Hour Act.

Leads for the Sterling Safety Corridor Improvements Project field questions and showcase their “preferred design” during an open house meeting at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Preferred design alternative for Sterling Highway safety corridor introduced at town hall

The project is intended to redesign and construct improvements to the highway to reduce the number of fatal and serious collisions.

Alaska State Troopers badge. File photo
Recovered remains confirmed to be missing Texas boaters; fourth set of remains found

Remains were recovered from the vessel sank that in Kachemak Bay last August.

Kenai Peninsula Borough School District Superintendent Clayton Holland speaks during a meeting of the KPBSD Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Jan. 13, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
KPBSD issues notice of non-retention to pool managers, theater techs and library aides

Those notices were issued due to the ongoing uncertainty in state education funding.

National Guard members put on hazmat suits before entering the simulation area on Monday, June 9, 2025. (Natalie Buttner / Juneau Empire)
National Guard begins exercise in Juneau simulating foreign terrorist attacks

Operation ORCA brings 100 personnel to Juneau, disrupts traffic around Capitol.

Most Read