NORTH BEND, Ore. — A Coast Guard aircrew located four missing boaters from Tennessee in good condition 35 miles west of Winchester Bay, Thursday afternoon.
A 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew from Coast Guard Station Umpqua River, in Winchester Bay, is towing the 25-foot pleasure craft The Big Kahuna back to the station and is expected to arrive around 6 p.m.
“We’re honored to send our boat out there to bring these people home,” said Senior Chief David Pierias, officer-in-charge of Station Umpqua River. “It was through fantastic consolidated effort between the air station and our small boat station that we were able to locate a vessel that has been missing for nearly a day.”
Two MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crews from Coast Guard Air Station North Bend and Coast Guard Air Facility Newport searched for two and a half hours and covered 320 square miles.
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, Washington, launched to assist, but were stood down before reaching the search area.
The North Bend aircrew located the missing vessel and lowered a rescue swimmer to check the vitals of Jim Jackson, Michael Jackson, and two children, ages 10 and 14. There were no reported injuries. The aircrew also gave the passengers food and water.
View the initial release here.