The U.S. Coast Guard has released the names of the five fishermen who went missing off the southeast Alaska coast.
This comes two days after the search for their bodies and the boat has been called off.
Early Sunday morning, a few miles off the coast of Juneau, Alaska, the F/V Wind Walker crew came over the radio.
Just twelve miles away on a tugboat, Glenn Jahnke was serving as a mate on watch overnight. He said he heard the fear and urgency in the crew’s voice.
“He said they rolled on their side, were taking on water, two people were in the water. Then the Coast Guard asked a question and there was no response after that,” Jahnke said.
That was the last time the five Sitka-based crew members were heard from.
Jahnke said the weather was treacherous that night with massive waves, wind blowing at 50 knots, and snow causing whiteout conditions.
“I think they just got caught off guard is really what happened,” Jahnke said. “It’s a stark reminder you have to be really cautious, watch your weather because it changes quickly.”
The search has been called off after more than 24 hours, leaving five families without closure.
The Coast Guard has now identified the missing fisherman. They are Michael Brown, Travis Kapp, Jacob Hannah, Alex Ireland, and Emilio Celaya-Talamanter.
GoFundMe pages show many of the men were fathers, loving partners, and irreplaceable in their families.
Hannah’s GoFundMe page says they are raising money specifically to find the missing men and the 50-foot boat. The page shows they want to hire a company called Global Marine. The company’s website says the specialize in using high tech equipment and cables to search deep water and haul things back to the surface.
Hannah’s page said the company’s services cost several thousand dollars a day. The fundraising goal listed is $50,000 to cover that burden.
The families of Alex Ireland and Emilio Celaya-Talamanter have GoFundMe pages listed as well to help with living expenses for loved ones and death ceremony costs.
Alex Ireland: https://www.gofundme.com/f/support-alexs-family-after-tragic-accident
Emilio Celaya-Talamanter: https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-ejs-family-after-tragic-sea-loss
Jacob Hannah: https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-loss-of-jake-hannah-from-wind-walker
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