On Fourth of July morning, the Skipper of the 62-foot fishing vessel Anna Lane called in to Alaska State Troopers and notified them that the other person on his crew had gotten caught in the anchor winch and he was unable to extract him.

At the time of the call, the Anna Lane was north of Ninilckik approximately a mile and a half offshore in Cook Inlet.

Ninilchik Emergency Services was dispatched aboard a charter vessel to the scene and found upon their arrival that the crewmember, now identified as 55-year-old Frederic, Wisconsin resident Lewis Byerly was already deceased.

Ninilchik EMS brought Byerly’s remains to Ninilchik, where he was further transported to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Anchorage for autopsy.

The initial investigation into the incident discovered that Byerly had been pulling the anchor up with the winch and had gotten his hand caught in the anchor reel. Unable to free himself, the winch continued reeling in, pulling Byerly further into the winch ulltimately killing him.

Notification was sent to the United States Coast Guard as well as the Occupational Safety and Hazard Administration. Next of kin were also notified.

The Anna Lane returned to its homeport in Homer after the accident.