EVERETT — Everett police recovered a sunken boat and the bodies of two missing passengers Saturday, 10 days after a shrimping expedition turned to tragedy on Possession Sound.
The Everett Police Marine Unit, with the help of the Seattle Police Harbor Patrol, Pierce County Marine Operations and the nonprofit Innerspace Exploration Team recovered the boat’s owner, a man in his 60s, and his coworker, a woman in her 40s, who were first reported missing on May 21.
The son of the boat owner, a man in his 20s, remains missing and is presumed drowned.
Saturday’s news ended a massive search and recovery effort that began soon after the 26-foot vessel was reported sinking around 1 p.m. on May 21.
As the boat began to submerge, a good Samaritan in another boat rescued a man in his 50s from the water. The man was reported to be uninjured but later evaluated at a hospital.
The U.S. Coast Guard, Everett Fire Department and Everett police used a helicopter, rescue boats, drones, fire rescue swimmers and land-based teams in the search.
Everett police located the boat on May 22, one day after it was reported submerging, Everett police spokesperson Natalie Given said Sunday — a fact not disclosed to the public to protect the scene. The news was shared immediately with victims’ families, she said. Since the discovery of the boat, the marine unit worked to create a recovery plan, which ended up heavily involving the Innerspace Exploration Team.
“Innerspace Exploration Team was established in 1984 and is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation comprised of professionals from around the northwest,” according to the nonprofit’s website. “Together we work to improve the marine environment by removing derelict gear from our waters, educating the next generation, and assisting families in need who have lost a loved one to drowning.”
“I can’t express the department’s good fortune and gratitude to have a team of professionals of this caliber right here in the Pacific Northwest, our backyard,” Given said.
With the help of a Remotely Operated Vehicle from Pierce County Marine Operations, searchers located the boat upside down approximately 165 feet below the surface Saturday. Two bodies were recovered at this depth, Given said. The ROV searched the boat’s interior while underwater, and was unable to locate the third missing person.
Searchers raised the boat and towed it to water about 35 feet deep where the Everett Police Dive Team searched and failed to find the third person.
The bodies of the two missing boaters were turned over to the Snohomish County Medical Examiner’s Office, who will determine the cause and manner of death.
The cause for the accident has not been determined, Given said.
Michael Henneke: 425-339-3431; michael.henneke@heraldnet.com; X: @ihenpecked.
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