ASTORIA, Ore. — The Coast Guard suspended its search Sunday for a person reported missing after a vessel was found partially submerged near the Columbia River Bar.
At about 5:20 a.m. Nov. 23, Coast Guard Sector Columbia River received a 911 relay reporting a disabled vessel with one person aboard being pulled toward the Columbia River Bar. Station Cape Disappointment 47-foot motor lifeboat boat crews launched in response and located a debris field and a partially submerged 16-foot power vessel in the vicinity of the report.
Sector Columbia River reclassified the case as a possible person in the water and launched an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter from Air Station Astoria.
Investigating crews located an aground sailboat associated with the missing individual and righted the previously discovered capsized skiff believed to have been used to ferry items from the grounded vessel to shore. Neither discovery produced information relating to the possible location of the victim.
After completing multiple searches with no sightings and receiving no responses to urgent marine information broadcasts, the search was suspended at 1:57 p.m. Nov. 23. “The decision to suspend a search is never made lightly,” said Lt. William Trumper, command duty officer for the Coast Guard’s Northwest District Command Center. “We extend our thoughts to the individual’s family and loved ones during this difficult time.”
Crews searched over 76 square nautical miles. On scene weather included 11-19 mph winds, seas of less than one foot and a water temperature of 52 degrees Fahrenheit.
The Coast Guard strongly encourages all mariners to wear their life jacket and carry a VHF radio.
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