Coast Guard Medevacs Injured Man and Woman From False Island

JUNEAU, Alaska - A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 “Jayhawk” rescue helicopter crew was launched Saturday evening to conduct a medical evacuation of a 29-year-old male who was injured in an ATV accident on False Island, which is on the north end of Chichagof Island in Peril Strait 30 miles north of Sitka.

The 29-year-old male was driving on the road with a female when they both accidentally crashed their ATV’s into shallow water. The male ATV rider was injured in the accident while the female injured her leg.

The owner of the cabin the ATV riders were staying at notified the Coast Guard of the accident after the female was able to drag the male two hours back to the cabin. Once they arrived at the cabin, friends of the two ATV riders assisted in putting 30 blankets on the injured male that was reportedly suffering from hypothermia by the owner of the cabin.

The owner of the cabin safely transferred the injured male and female to a helicopter-landing pad in a pick-up truck where the rescue helicopter crew landed with a Coast Guard doctor on board at 9 p.m.

The rescue helicopter returned to Sitka at 10 p.m. where the injured male and female were safely transferred to awaiting emergency medical services.

The medical conditions of the injured male and female are unknown at this time.

Coast Guard Medevacs Injured Crewmember

JUNEAU, Alaska - The Coast Guard has medically evacuated a crewmember from the 946-foot cruise ship, Sapphire Princess, after a 35-year-old male from St. Lucia suffered injuries from a fall while working on board the Bermuda-flagged cruise ship while it was moored to the pier in Skagway at 4:05 p.m.

An MH-60 rescue helicopter crew from Air Station Sitka was launched after receiving notification from personnel on the Sapphire Princes at 2:45 p.m.

Medical service members helped deliver the injured male into the rescue helicopter shortly after the rescue helicopter arrived at the Skagway Airport.

The rescue helicopter crew landed at the Army National Guard hangar safely transferring the man to awaiting personnel from Capital City Fire/Rescue. He was taken to Bartlett Regional Medical Hospital in Juneau, Alaska.

The medical condition of the injured crewmember is unknown at this time.

Coast Guard Suspends Search for Petersburg Man

JUNEAU, Alaska - The Coast Guard has suspended the search for Thomas Lewis, 52-year-old Petersburg man, who was reported missing on September 12, 2008 after failing to return on September 11, 2008 from a three-day fishing trip in Frederick Sound.

A Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Sitka located the overdue vessel, Hurricane, aground on Cape Fanshaw with no one on board. Hurricane’s engines were running and the catch on board was not cleaned and spoiled. Information retrieved from the vessel’s navigation system and laptop indicated that no entries had been made after 5:45pm on September 9, 2008.

Ground teams from the South East Alaska Dogs Organized for Ground Search (SEADOGS) searched the area of the grounded fishing vessel. Coast Guard, Civil Air Patrol, and Army National Guard aircrews conducted extensive searches of the area, including the shorelines of all smaller neighboring islands. Coast Guard Cutter Liberty , Coast Guard Auxiliary, and seven Good Samaritan fishing vessels searched the waters off of Cape Fanshaw. A total of 1,472 nautical miles were searched.

The Coast Guard is still asking mariners and aircraft transiting this area to remain vigilant and report any sightings to the Coast Guard at (907) 463-2991.

Petersburg Man Missing, Coast Guard Finds Vessel Aground

JUNEAU, Alaska - Coast Guard Sector Juneau received a report at 11:30 a.m. today that a 52 year-old commercial fisherman from Petersburg, Alaska was overdue after he did not return from a halibut fishing trip Thursday.

At 11:50 a.m. a Coast Guard rescue crew from Air Station Sitka out on a routine patrol located the missing man’s fishing vessel, Hurricane, aground with the engines still running near Cape Fanshaw approximately 30 miles northwest of Petersburg. The crew from the MH-60 Jayhawk lowered a rescue swimmer to investigate the vessel. The rescue swimmer searched the vessel and found nobody on board.

The Coast Guard has two helicopters on scene searching the area for the missing mariner. The Coast Guard Cutter Liberty was also launched from Auke Bay to assist in the search. Also participating are a Coast Guard Auxiliary vessel from Petersburg, two Good Samaritan fishing vessels, the Alaska State Troopers, the South East Alaska Dogs Organized for Ground Search (SEADOGS), and a Juneau-based Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter.

Coast Guard, others continue search for Sitka man

JUNEAU, Alaska - Sitka Mountain Rescue, volunteers from Harris Air, the Alaska State Troopers, and the Coast Guard are working together to search for 41-year-old Sitka resident Chuck Thompson, missing since yesterday along the coast of Baranof Island about 16 miles south of Sitka.

A friend and coworker of the missing man called the Coast Guard Sector Juneau Command Center at 6:50 p.m. on Sunday to report that Thompson had not returned on time. Thompson had been staying at a U.S. Forest Service cabin at Seven Fathoms Bay since Thursday and had planned to return to Sitka Sunday morning. He had a VHF/AM radio with him and had been checking in daily with his coworkers from Sitka-based Harris Air as they flew over.

A Harris Air aircraft located Thompson’s empty 16-foot skiff aground on rocks near Yamani Islet Sunday night. The skiff’s running lights were on, the key was in the “ON” position, and the throttle was in the clutch-ahead position. The rudder was hard-over to port, suggesting that the vessel had been turning in circles.

The Coast Guard retrieved the skiff’s GPS unit and conducted a preliminary investigation, finding that the skiff had been exiting Necker Bay when it began making tight circles before drifting aground. The Coast Guard adjusted its search pattern based on the information from the GPS.

A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and crew transported two two-person teams from Sitka Mountain Rescue to the scene this morning to conduct land searches. A search of the cabin revealed Thompson’s belongings, as well as an inflatable kayak he had been using.

In addition to Coast Guard Air Station Sitka and Sitka Mountain Rescue, the 110-foot Coast Guard Cutter Liberty, which arrived in the area at 9 a.m., is also involved in the ongoing search efforts.

Anyone with information that might help locate the missing man should call the Coast Guard Command Center at (907) 463-2980.

Coast Guard, Good Samaritans Searching for Sitka Man Near Baranof Island

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - The Coast Guard and Good Samaritans are currently searching for a Sitka man overdue on a voyage from Sitka to Baranof Island in Southeast Alaska.

The 110-foot Coast Guard Cutter Liberty is en route to the scene. A MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and crew from Air Station Sitka are currently on scene. Members of Sitka Mountain Rescue may be employed in the search later today.

The man was reported overdue by his employer at 7 a.m. Sunday and a search ensued. A Good Samaritan aircraft located the man’s 16-foot skiff grounded at a point near Yamani Islet. The Coast Guard helicopter lowered a rescue swimmer to the vessel. It was reportedly in good condition and there were signs that the man had been recently operating the skiff.

He was reported to be staying at a cabin on Baranof Island’s Seven Fathoms Bay while on a beachcombing expedition. Searchers plan to visit the cabin today. The site is about 20 miles south of Sitka.

Weather in the area is reported as overcast with light winds and rain.

Coast Guard Crew Pulls Double Duty - Two Cases, Two Lives Saved

SITKA, Alaska - A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka helicopter crew conducted two medevacs overnight saving the lives of two men with heart difficulties in Southeast Alaska.

An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and crew was launched shortly before midnight for the evacuation of a 55-year old male from the small town of Hoonah, 144 miles north of Sitka.  Commercial services were unable to assist due to weather concerns. The Coast Guard crew safely transferred the patient in stable condition from the Hoonah clinic to emergency medical personnel from Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital in Sitka.

Medical treatment for the 90 minute flight to Sitka was provided by the rescue swimmer, Aviation Survival Technician Third Class Travis Peck, and Hospital Corpsman Third Class Majorie Butler the Sitka duty corpsman.

Shortly after landing early this morning, the helicopter crew was again called to action to medically evacuate an 85-year old male, a Canadian national, from the 866-foot cruise ship Mercury located 30 miles west of Sitka in Cross Sound. The crew executed a basket hoist recovery from the ship and provided medical assistance en route to Sitka where the man was safely transferred in stable condition to emergency medical personnel.

These operations bring the total number of search and rescue cases the Coast Guard has conducted in Alaska this fiscal year to 559 with 174 lives saved.

Coast Guard Medevacs Cruise Ship Passenger

JUNEAU, Alaska - The Coast Guard is medically evacuating one passenger suffering from internal bleeding on board the cruise ship Norwegian Pearl approximately 300 miles south of Sitka, Alaska.

The Rescue Coordination Center Victoria requested Coast Guard assistance to transport the 64-year-old male off the Norwegian Pearl and transfer him to a medical center in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada.

A Coast Guard flight surgeon conferred with the doctor aboard the cruise ship and determined the safest and fastest way to transport the passenger was by helicopter. The Air Station Sitka helicopter crew has an estimated time of arrival at the cruise ship of 7:15 p.m.

The condition of the patient is unknown at this time.