Search & Rescue

The five crewmembers of the 58-foot vessel Kodiak Isle donned their survival suits and evacuated into a life raft late Wednesday night. The vessel reportedly hit a rock near Cape Sitkinak, which is near the extreme southwestern end of the Kodiak Island archipelago. The crew reported that the vessel’s on-board dewatering pumps were not keeping up with the flooding.

Petty Officer Loren Brady of Coast Guard Sector Anchorage says they dispatched an H-60 helicopter and C-130 aircraft out of Airstation Kodiak. The vessel’s five male crewmembers were hoisted aboard the helo and taken back to the airstation about 2:30 a.m. Thursday morning. No injuries were reported after the crew was checked out by emergency medical services personnel.

It’s unknown if the Kodiak Isle is still afloat or has sunk. Brady says they’ll dispatch another H-60 to check on the vessel and any potential pollution.

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Coast Guard and State troopers report rescuing a stranded hiker south of Thane late Tuesday night.

The man apparently went out Tuesday morning on the Thane trail, but he never returned as planned.

Coast Guard search and rescue controller Vince Grochwski says Alaska State Troopers and SEADOGS participated in the search. The Coast Guard was called in to assist about 9 o’clock Tuesday night.

The hiker apparently twisted an ankle. He fired off a gun as a signal when a Coast Guard 45-foot patrol boat passed by Point Salisbury at about 9:30 pm.

The Coast Guard crew directed the ground crew to the area where the shot was fired.

Since a shoreline evacuation was not possible, Grochwski says the man was helped out by foot just after 3 o’clock on Wednesday morning.

The Coast Guard would only identify the hiker as a 47-year old man, while Troopers identified him as 46-year old Jamie Hurtt of Juneau.

The Coast Guard’s newest asset for Southeast is now on station. The cutter Chandeleur stopped for a brief welcoming ceremony at Station Juneau on Friday before the heading back down to its designated port of Ketchikan.

The 110-foot Chandeleur replaces the medium-endurance cutter, the 213-foot Acushnet, that was decommissioned last year. The Acushnet was named Queen of the Fleet, or oldest serving vessel in the Coast Guard fleet, just before going out with 67-years of total service. The Chandeleur was recently stationed in Florida and just went through a nine-month refit.

Senator Lisa Murkowski criticized the proposed reassignment last year and said the vessel will have a hard time getting out to the Gulf of Alaska.

The Chandeleur with its seventeen crew joins the Naushon already stationed in Ketchikan. It’s also of the Island class, like the Anacapa based out of Petersburg and the Liberty in Auke Bay.

Coast Guard Lt. Sam Blase, commanding officer of the Chandeleur, says it’s a pleasure to be up in Southeast Alaska and he says they look forward to working in the area.

Blase says the vessel just emerged from a nine-month re-fit that included stripping everything out from the vessel except the kitchen sink.

“She got a lot of hull work and a lot of metal replacement done on her since she is 20-plus years old,” said Blase. “She also got upgraded electronics packages. We got some updated navigation capabilities and as well as making sure that we had the latest in technology on board for the radios and communication gear.”

You can hear the full interview below:

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David Slwooko, 41, and Debbie Kimoktoak, 48, went missing last week after leaving Koyuk in a 17-foot skiff. Along with two dogs, they were headed for the Unalakleet, but they never arrived. Their skiff was found upside down and beached about 13-miles southwest of Unalakleet.

Trooper Spokesperson Beth Ipsen says a passing pilot spotted Kimoktoak’s body Friday not far from where the boat and much of the debris drifted ashore. Ipsen says a state trooper searched the coastline for Slwooko in a helicopter over the weekend.

“Yesterday, there were about nine boats, aluminum skiffs that were out searching the shoreline,” said Ipsen. But she said that Troopers have since suspended their efforts in the search pending new leads.

The bodies of both dogs drifted ashore in the same area.

View Norton Sound boaters missing in a larger map

The search has been suspended for two boaters reported overdue in Norton Sound.

The Coast Guard and Alaska State Troopers were involved in the aerial search for 41-year-old David Slwooko and 48-year-old Debra Kimoktoak.

Troopers say the Unalakleet couple was to travel Monday from Koyuk to Unalakleet in a 17-foot boat, but never arrived in Unalakleet that evening as expected. Troopers say the pair had two dogs with them and enough food to last at least a day.

Troopers launched a search after the two were reported overdue Tuesday, but they say extremely low water and high winds hampered the search. The search continued yesterday with C-130 aircraft, H-60 helicopter, and the cutter Bertholf.

After seven different searches, the Coast Guard says the effort was suspended last night before 10 o’clock.

The Coast Guard says the skiff was found yesterday south of Egg Island, about 30 miles southwest of Unalakleet. It was beached and overturned, but no sign of the couple or the two dogs with them.

View Norton Sound boaters missing in a larger map

Coast Guard aircraft crews are looking for a missing skiff in Northwest Alaska with two people and two dogs onboard. The 17-foot skiff was heading from Koyuk to Unalakleet when it disappeared earlier this week.

Lieutenant Crystal Hudak of the Coast Guard command center in Juneau said Thursday morning that were dispatching an H-60 helicopter from their Forward Operating Location, or new summertime base, in Barrow to look for the skiff. A C-130 aircraft, already positioned in Anchorage, was also being dispatched to help search for the skiff.

Another C-130 aircraft is being sent from Kodiak to meet up with the H-60 in Kotzebue. They’ll transport a second helicopter crew which will relieve the first crew for the search.

The cutter Bertholf is also being diverted to help search.