AST revealed that five Chignik Lake residents were rescued while one body was recovered and one remains missing after a tragic Saturday afternoon incident there.

At 3:16 pm on Saturday afternoon, Fairbanks troopers were alerted that a skiff with three aboard had capsized while transporting a snow machine on its bow after encountering a wave as it transited to the north side of the lake.

The small watercraft floated for approximately a half-hour after it capsized with 24-year-old Taylor Lind, 42-year-old Fred Shangin, and 39-year-old Nicholas Garner aboard. After the capsize, Lind was able to reach the ice and self-rescue, but, Shangin, who could not get off the skiff, succumbed to the cold while atop the bottom of the craft. Garner would cling to the side of the skiff until he could no longer hang on and slipped below the surface and did not reappear.

According to the report, 24-year-old Kevin O’Domin and 21-year-old Denise Bereskin, who were on shore, could not make it to the craft to assist in a rescue. Soon, a 16-year-old teen, along with 29-year-old Jamie O’Domin, came to the scene in a second skiff to assist.

At 6:30 pm, a Coast Guard helicopter arrived at the location and picked up all five surviving persons, and recovered Shangin’s remains. All were transported to Chignik Bay.

“Local search efforts for Garner have been unable to search due to a winter storm,” according to the trooper report.

None of the victims were wearing flotation devices at the time of the incident.

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