Four individuals are missing after their boat capsized near Homer over the weekend. Four others aboard the boat have been rescued, but the search for those missing was suspended on Sunday, according to officials with the United States Coast Guard.
According to Chief Petty Officer and Public Affairs Specialist for Coast Guard 17th District Travis Magee, at approximately 6:00 p.m. on Saturday, August 3, the Coast Guard received the initial Mayday call for a 28-foot aluminum boat approximately 14 nautical miles West of Homer.
Magee said that it isn’t clear at this time what led to the boat taking on water.
The Coast Guard searched for approximately 24 hours but were unable to locate the missing individuals. Magee said that on Sunday, USCG officials “made the very difficult decision to suspend search efforts.”
According to KWTX in Texas, the four missing boaters are a father, a mother, and two children from Troy, Texas, who were vacationing in Alaska. David and Mary Maynard had been in Alaska for about a week with their two children.
Although the Maynard family is still missing, Magee said four others were saved. “There were initially 8 individuals who were aboard the vessel at the time of the incident. The Coast Guard received a Mayday call at 6:00 PM. We immediately issued a marine broadcast notifying vessels in the area of the situation. Thankfully, there was a vessel in the area that responded to that call and was able to navigate to that area within about 15 minutes from the initial notification and was able to rescue four people from a life raft from that vessel.”
Magee also noted that it is unclear at this time if anyone from the Maynard family was wearing a personal floatation device.
The Coast Guard utilized multiple assets and personnel, including a helicopter crew, a C-130, the USCG Cutter Naushon, and two 29-foot vessels. The Alaska State Troopers aided Coast Guard crews by using one of their search boats. Multiple Good Samaritan vessels were also on the scene, assisting in search efforts.