LONG BEACH, Wash. — One man is missing after a crabbing boat sank near the entrance to Willapa Bay on Sunday night.
A U.S. Coast Guard crew from Air Station Astoria in Oregon rescued two other men who were aboard the 46-foot vessel Ethel May.
Willapa Bay is located on the southwest Washington coast in between the Long Beach Peninsula and the mainland.
The wife of one of the men aboard the vessel called 911 on Sunday to report there was an emergency on board. At about 7:30 p.m., Coast Guard watchstanders in Seattle received an emergency position indicating radio beacon transmission from the boat.
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Astoria and Coast Guard lifeboat crews from Grays Harbor responded to help. The aircrew hoisted two of the mariners from their liferaft to safety at 8:10 p.m., according to the agency.
The two survivors were taken to Willapa Harbor Hospital in South Bend, Wash. to be evaluated for hypothermia.
The aircrew and boat crew searched for the boat’s third passenger through the night. The Coast Guard called off the search after more than 15 hours on Monday evening. They said crews covered a 290 square-mile area from the air, sea, and shore.
Search crews found debris in Willapa Bay and in the Pacific indicating the vessel broke apart, according to the Coast Guard.
Coast Guard crews from Astoria, Grays Harbor and the North Bend and Columbia River sectors are involved in the search, along with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife.