UPDATE (1-12-24):
The Coast Guard has called off the search for a vessel that capsized near Sitka on January 9, pending more information. The boating accident claimed two lives, and the bodies of the deceased have not been recovered.
In a press release on January 12, the Coast Guard identified the three survivors. Tyson Ross, Justin Ipock and James Sturm were rescued by a helicopter crew from Air Station Sitka after their boat capsized around 20 miles north of Sitka near Chichagof Island.
While the Coast Guard did not name the victims in the latest press release, memorial funds set up for the families have identified 18-year-old Sayer Tuzon and 18-year-old Darren Borbridge as the victims in the boating accident.
On January 10, the Coast Guard and a Sitka Fire Department Dive Rescue Team located the bodies of Tuzon and Borbridge using an underwater drone, but Coast Guard spokesperson Shannon Kearney told KCAW that dive teams were initially unable to recover them. The Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Denman stayed alongside the boat until Wednesday night, when they were forced to seek safe harbor after weather conditions deteriorated. The cutter crew and a helicopter team returned to search the area Thursday and Friday, but were unable to relocate the vessel.
Link to support memorial expenses for Darren Borbridge
Link to support memorial expenses for Sayer Tuzon
Meal train for Justin Ipock and James Sturm
Meal train for the Borbridge Family
Initial Report (1-10-24):
Two people are confirmed dead following a boating mishap near Sitka Tuesday night. Three others survived.
A helicopter from Air Station Sitka responded to the scene of an overturned vessel at 5:15 p.m. Tuesday (1-9-23) near Chichagof Island, about 25 miles north of Sitka.
Three people were safely recovered from the water by about 5:50 p.m. The Coast Guard Cutters Douglas Denman and Kukui, along with an HC-130 aircraft from Air Station Kodiak also responded Tuesday night, tracked the vessel’s drift, and searched the surrounding area for two people who remained missing.
A Dive Rescue team from the Sitka Fire Department, along with a state trooper, arrived early Wednesday afternoon and deployed an unmanned underwater drone. The bodies of two deceased victims were found in the cabin of the vessel. Recovery operations will begin once on-scene conditions improve.
Initial weather in the area was reported at 8-10 knot winds, with 9-foot seas and below-freezing temperatures.
The three people recovered from the water were flown to awaiting Emergency Medical Personnel at the Sitka airport.
Editor’s Note: An earlier version of this story referenced a press release that included an incorrect first name for one of the survivors. This story has been updated.
