A 1 pm call from a concerned citizen on Tuesday prompted the Coast Guard to initiate search efforts along with the Anchorage Fire Department and an Alaska Rescue Coordination Center chopper. 

The caller reported that they had discovered an overturned skiff with the keys still in the ignition approximately one mile east of the Goose Bay Airport.

After using registration data the last known owner of the skiff was contacted and that person informed Coast Guard watchstanders that “stated he’d given it away to a friend of a friend,” the USCG reported.

Tuesday evening the Alaska State Troopers joined the search and an Air Station Kodiak C-130 Hercules flew in to assist.

“We’ve had no reports of anyone missing or overdue, but we’re searching with our partner agencies for a person in the water this evening,” stated  Sector Anchorage command duty officer Senior Chief Petty Officer Erik Patterson,  “It is possible that someone took this boat out without telling anyone where they were going or when they planned to return, and they might be in distress.”

The  Coast Guard later learned that the skiff had been seen as early as Sunday by additional persons in the area.

Anyone with any information about the skiff is encouraged to call the Coast Guard Sector Anchorage command center at 907-428-4100.

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