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Anchorage, Alaska – Seven empty survival suits found in Gulf of Alaska, crew missing after distress call

On Monday, a Coast Guard official reported that seven empty survival suits have been discovered, but there is no sign of the crew of five people who made a distress call as their fishing vessel, Wind Walker, was capsizing in a storm in the icy waters of the Gulf of Alaska. Four suits were found in a bay not far from where the vessel was last heard from, while three others were located on the bay’s shore. The search area has been narrowed down after locating the vessel’s GPS beacon and two strobe lights.

No wreckage of the ship has been sighted, and there is no indication that the crew deployed a life raft. Two Coast Guard vessels are continuing the search in the area where the ship is presumed to have overturned. The crew sent a mayday call early Sunday morning as they faced heavy snow, strong winds, and rough seas. Hopes for finding the crew are dwindling, with the possibility that the ship may have capsized and sunk.

A Coast Guard icebreaker is using underwater sonar to aid in the search efforts, but no physical signs of the vessel have been found yet. The survival suits discovered were empty, and it remains unclear if they were worn by the crew. The search area remains fairly small, thanks to the GPS coordinates from the vessel’s emergency beacon.

The crew of the Wind Walker was last seen by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration crew just hours before the distress call. With up to 17 inches of snow falling in Juneau over the weekend and water temperatures of about 45 degrees Fahrenheit, search efforts are ongoing amid challenging conditions.

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