The sister of a missing man in Juneau said she’s grateful for the U.S. Coast Guard’s efforts to find her younger brother after he reportedly fell overboard in Auke Bay on Sunday, but she’s not sure why the water search is over.
“It was so windy and choppy out in the bay (when he fell in). I know for a fact he’s in the water. He was too far from land to have made it to shore,” Amy Meats said on Tuesday.
Amy’s brother, Arnold Skeek, 26, was last seen by his captain around 6 a.m. Sunday. The vessel he was on was anchored half a mile away from the harbor in Auke Bay. Around 11 a.m. that same day, Skeek could not be found and it was presumed that he fell overboard. The Coast Guard conducted a “saturated” search of the Auke Bay area on land for approximately 26 hours before suspending the search, Coast Guard Petty Officer Jon-Paul Rios said. Now, the Juneau Police Department is handling the case as a missing person’s investigation.
JPD released a photo of Skeek along with this brief description: He is an Alaska Native man, 5’7” tall and weighs approximately 150 pounds, according to the JPD press release. JPD said Skeek is 26; the Coast Guard previously provided an inccorect age for Skeek, saying he was 27. Police are asking anyone with information about his whereabouts to contact them at 586-0600.
JPD spokesman Lt. David Campbell said the department was initially called to the area Sunday when Skeek went missing and through interviews, a detective learned that Skeek was on board with only two other crewmates who were lifelong friends of his. They were initially docked at a harbor, but rough weather conditions that kept the vessel knocking against the docks led them to anchor out in open water. Campbell said criminal activity is not suspected.
Police are reviewing surveillance footage in the Auke Bay area, but they do not have reason to suspect that Skeek is on land; the investigation is a matter of due diligence.
“(The investigation is for) the off chance that he didn’t go into the water and he’s on land somewhere,” Campbell said. “We don’t think he is, we’re just doing it to be thorough.”
Meats said she’s grateful that the search is continuing in some way for her brother, although she said she is certain he won’t be found around town. She also said she was upset the Coast Guard search, in her opinion, ended so quickly.
“I feel it’s not fair at all,” Meats said about the search which started Sunday and was suspended early Monday afternoon. “My brother’s life is worth more than 26 hours of searching.”
Meats said several people have reached out to her through Facebook and have offered their help in continuing the search for Skeek in the water. She said more than six people, strangers to her before Sunday’s incident, agreed to survey the waters on their personal watercraft vehicles and skiffs.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Rios said the decision to suspend the search was difficult for the command center to make but it was based on the rescue responders’ assessment and only came after two Coast Guard cutters, several smaller boats and a helicopter thoroughly searched the water’s surface.
“It’s a hard decision that no one wants to make,” Rios said.
Alaska State Troopers initially assisted the Coast Guard with the search and ended its efforts as well when the Coast Guard did. Spokesman Tim DeSpain said if JPD asks for the trooper assistance, they will step in again.
• Contact reporter Paula Ann Solis at 523-2272 or paula.solis@juneauempire.com.
