Alaska State Troopers on Friday arrested a Port Graham man reported missing at sea on Wednesday afternoon near Passage Island south of Homer. Troopers found the missing man, Ryan Meganack, 34, in a tent outside Port Graham after receiving a tip that Meganack was not missing. Troopers arrested Meganack for violating conditions of release for not being with his third-party custodian.
“It’s more than just a search and rescue being involved with the man found safe,” said trooper spokesperson Megan Peters.
According to a U.S. Coast Guard press release, troopers, the Coast Guard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Village of Port Graham mounted a search on Wednesday after watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Anchorage received a report about 2 p.m. Wednesday that Meganack had gone missing. He was reported to have left in a skiff from Port Graham on Wednesday and was last seen between 1 and 2 a.m. Wednesday.
The search involved air crews from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak and boats from the troopers, NOAA, Alaska State Parks, the Village of Port Graham and citizen volunteers. Ground parties from Port Graham also searched the shoreline from Nanwalek to Port Graham on Wednesday evening. A helicopter crew found Meganack’s skiff swamped with the engine down and keys in the ignition. The helicopter crew continued to search until poor weather forced them to return to base on Wednesday. Troopers and Alaska Wildlife Troopers in the P/V Augustine continued the search on Thursday. Late on Thursday troopers got the tip that Meganack might be hiding outside Port Graham.
Meganack was charged and arrested in January 2015 on one count of first-degree sexual assault and four counts of second-degree sexual assault. According to online court records, he was scheduled to attend a change-of-plea hearing on Dec. 5 at the Anchorage Courthouse. Meganack also is a registered sex offender for a 2002 crime of sexual abuse of a minor.
Further charges may be forthcoming, Peters said.
Michael Armstrong can be reached at michael.armstrong@homernews.com.
