The U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies suspended the search for a boater near Prince of Wales Island Saturday night.
Longtime Naukati resident James Gray, 63, left for an overnight fishing trip last Wednesday (March 2).
“Friends of his talked to him Wednesday evening and he said was going to camp on Camp Island, which is on the north side of Heceta Island,” said Scott Giard, lead command center controller at Sector Juneau.
“They suspected that he was going to be back Thursday at some point and when he didn’t come back Friday morning, the friends went out to look for him, and that’s when they found his vessel on the shore and his dog was still on the vessel,” Giard said.
Gray’s 20-foot fiberglass cuddy cabin boat was found on the north side of Heceta Island. Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers, U.S. Forest Service and Gray’s friends searched all surrounding waterways Friday and Saturday, including Sea Otter Sound, Davidson Inlet, part of El Capital Passage and Warren Channel.
“We don’t know exactly what happened but at some point he probably entered the water in Sea Otter Sound or Davidson Inlet, and his vessel and the effects that were on his vessel washed up on shore,” Giard said.
This was a regular fishing spot of Gray. He was “very familiar with the area, a very experienced fisherman and outdoorsman,” Giard said.
The decision to suspend the search was made in consultation with Gray’s family in Oregon.
