The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for a missing 65-year-old fisherman off the coast of Oregon and Washington, around 1:30pm, Wednesday, after scouring an area of 2,100 sq. miles, including over 430 miles of trackline for over nearly 24 hours,
The man, identified as Joel Kawahara, departed alone on his fishing vessel, the Karolee, the week prior and was last heard from at 7:30am, Friday, August 8th. The boat could be seen via its automatic identification system (AIS) and was traveling a constant southerly course at approximately four knots for several days.
Coast Guard watchstanders made numerous call outs to the Karolee and asked mariners in the area to do the same. No communication was ever received from the Karolee.
On Tuesday morning, a Coast Guard C-27 fixed-wing aircrew from Air Station Sacramento responded to the position of the vessel and attempted to make contact but nothing was heard. The aircrew visually noticed that the vessel was rigged for fishing, lights were energized, and a life raft was observed in its cradle.
The aircrew flew over the vessels’ previous course but did not find any signs of distress. The crew then flew back to Sacramento.
Around noon, watchstanders at the Coast Guard’s Northwest District command center dispatched an MH-60 helicopter from Air Station Astoria and Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Denman to assist in the search efforts. In addition, a boat crew from Coast Guard Station Neah Bay was launched and completed a shoreline search from Cape Flattery towards La Push, Wash.
The MH-60 searched for several hours in the waters west of Grays Harbor, Wash., and then returned to Astoria. The Douglas Denman arrived at the designated area by 8:00pm and began searching. The Douglas Denman’s search lasted through the night.
The crew searched the trackline where the vessel traversed off the coast of Washington and Oregon to look for any signs of distress.
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard’s Southwest District command center diverted the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Sea Lion to intercept the vessel and confirm if anyone was onboard.
The crew of the Sea Lion arrived on scene with the Karolee around 10 a.m., Wednesday, conducted a boarding, and confirmed no one was onboard. The Coast Guard crew also noted that all safety equipment was located onboard the vessel.
With no additional reports of distress or responses to callouts, the Coast Guard suspended the search.
The crew of the Sea Lion took the Karolee in tow and brought it to Eureka, Calif., where it was transferred to a Station Humboldt Bay boat crew. The vessel is now moored in Eureka.
