Search suspended for man missing from Seattle-based company's fishing boat

ANCHORAGE, AK. — The Coast Guard has suspended its search for a man last seen Thursday aboard a fishing boat north of St. Matthew Island.

The man was on a fishing boat owned by Seattle-based Clipper Seafoods, said Tommy Little, Clipper Seafoods operations manager. The vessel was processing and freezing cod, he confirmed.

The missing Clipper Seafoods employee has not been identified, though Little said most of their workers are from Seattle.

“Most of us join the Coast Guard specifically because we want to save lives,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class Jared Buchmiller, 17th District command duty officer. “The painful reality is that we can’t always bring people home. It is with heavy hearts that we suspended this search today.”

Search conditions included 15 mph winds, 5-foot seas, 10-mile visibility, an air temperature of 48 degrees and a water temperature of 50 degrees.