The fisherman was found alive two weeks after he went missing.
The man was aboard a 43-foot boat that sailed from Grays Harbor, Washington on Oct. 12, with two people on board, according to the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest.
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The UC Coast Guard announced Tuesday at post on Xformerly known as Twitter, that a search had begun for the missing sailors after they reportedly intended to return on October 15. The post included a public plea asking anyone with information to contact officials.
A day later, they announced to X that the search was suspended “pending the development of new information.”
“Teams searched over 14,000 square miles for over 8 hours,” the statement continued. “We extend our deepest condolences to the families of the missing at this difficult time.”
US Coast Guard announcement on Friday stated that the sailor was found alive in a life raft approximately 70 miles northwest of Cape Flattery “by good Samaritans”. He was brought to shore with the help of the Canadian Coast Guard and is reported to be in a stable condition.
USCG Pacific Northwest also included a map of where the life raft was found and said the incident remains under investigation.
Another person who was on board with the sailor remains missing, according to a statement from USCG Pacific Northwest. PEOPLE has reached out to USCG Pacific Northwest for comment.
The two Samaritans – identified as Ryan Planes and his uncle John, of Sooke, British Columbia – spoke about their experience in an interview with KING-TV.
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Photo of a life raft as a Good Samaritan boat approaches it, provided by the US Coast Guard account PNW at X.
US Coast Guard PNW/ Twitter
“We pulled him onto the boat. He gave me a big hug, and it was emotional. We made him breakfast. He drank three bottles of water. He was pretty hungry, poor guy,” John told the outlet. The planes recalled how they were the first to spot the missing sailor.
“I saw what looked like a life raft in the distance and I ran in and put my binoculars on it and then it fired a flare,” he said.
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In May, the US Coast Guard released a summary of recreational boating statistics for 2022. That year, there were 636 boating fatalities across the country, a decrease of 3.3% compared to 658 fatalities in 2021.
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Source: HIS Education