JUNEAU, Alaska – The U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska planned to search through the night for a 98-foot fishing boat with six people aboard missing in the Bering Sea, where 30-mph winds whipped up five- to eight-foot seas.
A Coast Guard news release said an electronic locating device was recovered Saturday in "a debris field containing buoys, a life ring from fishing vessel Destination and an oil sheen." Chief Petty Officer Joshua Ryan said searchers are "hoping for the best."
#USCG air crews continue search through the night for F/V Destination. CGC Morgenthau to join search #BreakingNewshttps://t.co/i972PSIs0H
— USCGAlaska (@USCGAlaska) February 12, 2017
Three Coast Guard helicopters as well as Good Samaritan boats tried to locate the Seattle-based vessel after a radio beacon alert sounded two miles northwest of St. George. A search party formed by locals on the small island patrolled the shoreline for signs of the crew.
Petty Officer Third Class Lauren Steenson said the 378-foot cutter Morgenthau en route from Dutch Harbor was expected to arrive in the search zone Sunday morning.