Overview
- Crews called off the operation around 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 13 after more than 18 hours of searching across roughly 2,100 square miles.
- The cutter Sea Lion intercepted the vessel around 10 a.m. on Aug. 13, found no one aboard with safety gear intact, and towed it to Eureka, California.
- A Coast Guard aircrew first located the boat on Aug. 12 and reported it rigged for fishing with a life raft in its cradle and no signs of distress.
- The fisherman, who departed alone and was last heard from at about 7:30 a.m. on Aug. 8, was identified by the Oregon Albacore Commission as 70-year-old Joel Kawahara of Quilcene, Washington.
- Officials noted the boat tracked a steady southerly course at about four knots for days, covering nearly 400 miles without contact.