Photo of the 43-foot vessel in which the two fishermen traveled in.Photo:US Coast Guard PNW/ Twitter
US Coast Guard PNW/ Twitter
A fisherman has been found alive two weeks after he went missing.
The man had been onboard a 43-foot vessel that departed Grays Harbor, Washington on Oct. 12, with two people onboard, according to the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest.
The U.C. Coast Guard announced on Tuesday in apost on X, formerly known as Twitter, that a search had begun for the missing mariners after they had reportedly intended to return on Oct. 15. The post included a public plea requesting anyone with information to contact officials.
A day later, theyannouncedon X that the search had been suspended “pending the development of new information.”
“Crews searched over 14,000 square miles for over 8 hours,” the statement continued. “Our sincerest condolences go out to the family of the missing people during this difficult time.”
The USCG Pacific Northwest also included a map of where the life raft was found and stated that the incident remains under investigation.
The second individual who was on the boat with the mariner remains missing, per the USCG Pacific Northwest’s announcement. PEOPLE has reached out to the USCG Pacific Northwest for comment.
“We pulled him on board. He gave me a big hug, and it was emotional. We made him breakfast. He drank three bottles of water. He was pretty hungry, poor guy,” John told the outlet. Planes recalled how they were first able to spot the missing mariner.
“I saw what looked like a life raft in the distance and ran inside and put the binoculars on him, and then he shot off a flare,” he said.
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In May, the U.S. Coast Guardreleased a summaryof 2022 recreational boating statistics. That year, there were 636 boating fatalities nationwide, which was a 3.3% decrease from the 658 deaths in 2021.
source: people.com
