NORTH BEND, Ore. — Coast Guard crews are searching for four people aboard a vessel reported overdue off the coast of Winchester Bay, Thursday.
An MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station North Bend is searching for Tennessee residents Jim Jackson, Michael Jackson and two children.
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Bend received a call around 9:00 a.m. from a family member, reporting that the crew of the 25-foot vessel The Big Kahuna was overdue after failing to return to port Wednesday.
The woman stated that the crew had left Coos Bay at 8:00 a.m. Wednesday to fish for crab offshore. She received a text message from a member of the crew at 1:00 a.m., with the vessel’s position, 40 miles west of Winchester Bay.
The North Bend helicopter crew is on scene searching for the missing people and querying vessels in the area. A second Dolphin aircrew from Coast Guard Air Facility Newport, an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Astoria, an HC-130 Hercules aircraft crew from Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento, California, and the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Cuttyhunk, a 110-foot patrol boat homeported in Port Angeles, Wash., are en route to the search area.
The vessel crew reportedly does not have a VHF-FM radio onboard.
“We know this is a trying time for the friends and family of the crew,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Katie Brown, a watchstander at Sector North Bend. “We encourage anyone with information about their whereabouts to come forward.”
Anyone with information regarding this case is encouraged to contact the Sector North Bend command center at 541-756-9210.
The weather on scene is reportedly 3-foot seas, light winds and a water temperature of 55 F.