Search Suspended Along Washington and Oregon Coast for Missing Man

Published 08/15/25 at 7:55 a.m.
By Oregon Coast Beach Connection Staff

(Eureka, California) - Another maritime tragedy hits the Pacific Northwest coastline, and this time around it involves the California coast as well as the Washington and Oregon coastline. For the third time in about a week, a person has gone missing at sea. (Photo US Coast Guard: the Karolee being towed to Humboldt Bay)

Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard officially suspended its search for a missing 65-year-old fisherman whose vessel was found adrift off the Pacific Northwest coast. The decision was made around 1:30 p.m. Wednesday after more than 18 hours of coordinated search efforts covering 2,100 square miles and over 430 miles of trackline.

The man had departed alone aboard his fishing vessel, the Karolee, the previous week and was last heard from at 7:30 a.m. on Friday, August 8. For several days, the vessel was tracked via its automatic identification system (AIS), showing a steady southerly course at approximately four knots. Despite repeated callouts from Coast Guard watchstanders and nearby mariners, no communication was ever received from the vessel.

On Tuesday morning, a C-27 fixed-wing aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento located the Karolee and attempted contact. The crew observed the vessel rigged for fishing, with lights activated and a life raft secured in its cradle, but found no signs of distress. After retracing the vessel’s previous course, the aircraft returned to Sacramento.

Photo US Coast Guard: the Karolee at Humboldt Bay

Later that day, the Coast Guard’s Northwest District command center deployed an MH-60 helicopter from Air Station Astoria and the Coast Guard Cutter *Douglas Denman*. A boat crew from Station Neah Bay also conducted a shoreline search from Cape Flattery to La Push, Washington. The Douglas Denman arrived on scene by 8 p.m. and continued searching through the night.

Meanwhile, the Southwest District command center diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Sea Lion to intercept the Karolee and determine if anyone was aboard. The Sea Lion crew reached the vessel around 10 a.m. Wednesday and conducted a boarding. They confirmed the vessel was unoccupied and that all safety equipment remained onboard.

USCG file photo

With no further signs of distress and no response to repeated callouts, the Coast Guard officially suspended the search. The Sea Lion towed the Karolee to Eureka, California, where it was transferred to a Station Humboldt Bay crew and is now moored.

“Suspending a search for someone is the toughest decision we make in the Coast Guard,” said Cmdr. Chelsey Stroud, search and rescue mission coordinator for the Northwest District. “Our crews diligently search hundreds of miles. We are grateful for the numerous Coast Guard crews along the West Coast who assisted in this search. We send our deepest condolences to the family, friends, and loved ones of the missing man.”

USCG file photo

Sunday, a fishing vessel out of Newport capsized and three of the four crew were rescued. The fourth man aboard the Das Bug was never found, in spite of exhaustive searches in central Oregon coast waters. That search was terminated on Monday. US Coast Guard Halts Search for Missing Fisherman Off Central Oregon Coast - The vessel capsized near Newport's Yaquina Bay Jetty over the weekend

Also on that day, a woman on the southern Washington coast went missing after kayaking with her husband near Westport. The 79-year-old woman somehow became separated from her husband by bad weather. That search resumed in the morning hours of Tuesday, but was called off about 2 p.m. US Coast Guard Calls Off Search for 79-Year-Old Woman Missing in Washington Coast Waters - She had been kayaking near Westport

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