MENDOCINO Co., 11/10/19 — Sixteen hours and 368 square miles into a search and rescue operation in the open waters of the Pacific, the United States Coast Guard has officially suspended its search for the last person who remains missing from the Miss Hailee, a fishing boat which capsized off Bodega Bay on Saturday evening.
The boat is based out of Fort Bragg-based fishing boat, first issued a distress call around 5:30 p.m., about 30 miles northwest of Bodega Bay. The Coast Guard was able to rescue two men and a woman from the water, but could not locate the fourth crew member, a man who was reported to be wearing a life-vest.
The Coast Guard first registered an emergency beacon “Miss Hailee” at about 5:30 p.m. Saturday evening, and failing to receive a response, the Coast Guard sent “a Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew, a Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento C-27 Spartan crew and a Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew to assist.” Crews arrived on the scene at 6:50 p.m. and upon rescuing the three passengers and learning of the fourth, continued the search through the night. According to the Guard, between the various crews they covered 368 square miles during a 16 hour search, hoping to find the lost
“The decision to suspend a search is extremely difficult and our thoughts are with the missing man and his family at this time,” said Capt. Marie Byrd, the Coast Guard Sector San Francisco commander, in a Coast Guard press release.
Here’s the full announcement from the Coast Guard, below. The agency also released a video of it’s search and rescue operation this morning, which you can watch here.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Coast Guard suspended their search Sunday morning for a man who was missing after Coast Guard crews rescued three people Saturday evening from a capsized commercial fishing boat approximately 30 miles northwest of Bodega Bay.
USCG press release, November 11, 2019.
The crew aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Tern, an 87-foot patrol boat homeported on Yerba Buena Island, and a Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew continued their search through the night.
The Coast Guard suspended their search after covering approximately 368 square miles over the course of approximately 16 hours.
“The decision to suspend a search is extremely difficult and our thoughts are with the missing man and his family at this time,” said Capt. Marie Byrd, the Coast Guard Sector San Francisco
commander.
An emergency position-indicating radio beacon from the 54-foot Miss Hailee notified Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders of a distress at approximately 5:30 p.m. Saturday.
After no response from multiple callouts to the vessel via VHF-FM radio channel 16, Sector San Francisco watchstanders launched a Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew, a Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento C-27 Spartan crew and a Coast Guard Station Bodega Bay 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew to assist.
At approximately 6:50 p.m. Saturday, the Dolphin crew arrived on scene and was able to locate three people in the water. After hoisting two men and a woman aboard the aircraft, the crew was notified of a fourth person that was missing. The missing man was reportedly wearing a life
jacket.
The Spartan aircrew, the MLB crew and good Samaritans aboard the tug, Cochise, remained on scene searching for the missing crewmember.