Coast Guard Sector Columbia River MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter file photo
WARRENTON, Ore. — A Coast Guard helicopter crew hoisted one person from the water and one person from a sandbar Wednesday after their boat capsized in the surf near the entrance to Nestucca Bay.
A Tillamook County dispatcher contacted watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River at 10:53 a.m. to relay that two people were in distress approximately 2 miles South of Little Haystack Rock. The dispatcher said a man used a cell phone to call 911 after the small recreational boat he and his uncle were crabbing in overturned in the surf.
The nephew was able to swim to a nearby sandbar but reported his uncle was still in the water and in need of help. Both men were wearing life jackets when the boat capsized.
A Sector Columbia River MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew, which was already in flight for training, diverted to help. Coast Guard Stations Tillamook Bay and Depoe Bay also deployed 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crews to assist the men.
Once on scene, the aircrew located and hoisted the man from the water and transported him to Pacific City State Airport where his care was transferred to emergency medical services personnel. The aircrew then returned to the sand bar and hoisted the man who called in the distress. It was later relayed to the Coast Guard that the man hoisted from the water was pronounced dead by a medical examiner.
Local officials have recovered the vessel, secured it to a pier and coordinated with the surviving member’s family to retrieve it.
