JUNEAU, Alaska – A Coast Guardsman attached to Station Ketchikan was pronounced dead after the Ketchikan Fire Department recovered his body in Herring Cove eight miles south of Ketchikan at 12:14 p.m. on Saturday.
The Ketchikan Fire Department reported witnesses stated Petty Officer 1st Class Sefton Reid, 31, was fishing from the shore in Herring Cove, hit by a wave, pulled into the water and did not resurface.
“While our minds are on the mission, our hearts are with his family,” said Rear Adm. Gene Brooks, Commander, 17th Coast Guard District, “This is a sad day for the Coast Guard, he was a good shipmate and will be missed.”
Crews from the Ketchikan Fire Department, Station Ketchikan and a commercial diving boat were immediately launched after receiving the report. The divers located Reid.
Petty Officer Reid had 11 years of Coast Guard service and was assigned to Station Ketchikan for the past year. He leaves behind four children.
