Man missing at sea for nearly 2 weeks found alive in life raft off Washington coast
By Raja Razek, CNN
(CNN) — One of two men missing at sea for nearly two weeks was found alive on Thursday by a Canadian fishing boat in a life raft in Canadian waters, approximately 70 miles northwest of Cape Flattery, Washington, according to US Coast Guard spokesperson Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier.
“The fact that he was in this life raft for multiple days, and still maintained hope, and was eventually found by a more or less random fishing boat was incredible and just a miraculous thing,” Strohmaier told CNN by phone. “The Ocean is a very vast place. He was floating in the middle of nowhere. A lot of times, it is pretty infrequent to have a vessel passing by.”
On Sunday afternoon, the Coast Guard was alerted to a missing fishing vessel that had departed the Washington coast on October 12 and was due back on October 15.
“They left from Westport, Washington,” Strohmaier said. “They were due back on the 15th, and a week later, the Coast Guard was made aware.”
The man was found by a Canadian fishing boat “in Canadian waters, and from that, the good Samaritan vessel radioed the Canadian Coast Guard. So, they came out … and took him back to shore where he could then go to a hospital. When he went to the hospital, he was reported to be in stable condition.”
At this time, another person remains missing and the incident remains under investigation, according to the US Coast Guard.
When asked if the US Coast Guard would resume the search for the missing mariner, Strohmaier said, “We are waiting to hear more information to gather along eyewitness accounts and statements from him (the person found) to determine what future action we can take, or the Canadian Coast Guard may take.”
On Tuesday, the US Coast Guard posted about the search for the missing vessel on X, saying, “USCG searching for the 43-foot vessel Evening with 2 people aboard, which departed Grays Harbor October 12 and reportedly intended to return October 15.” On Wednesday, the service said it had suspended the search “pending the development of new information” after “crews searched over 14,000 square miles for over 8 hours.”
CNN has reached out to the Canadian Coast Guard for more information.
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