Two men aboard a 43-foot fishing vessel named Evening left Westport, Washington, south of the Olympic Peninsula, on October 12, reportedly to catch albacore tuna. They were supposed to return on October 15, but were not reported missing until October 22. The U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard searched for the boat for three days, but on October 25, hours after the search was called off, Canadian fishermen pulled one of the men from a life raft off Tofino, Vancouver Island.
The Canadian fishermen spotted the life raft about 46 miles off Cape Flattery. “I saw what looked like a life raft in the distance and ran inside and put the binoculars on him and then he shot off a flare,” said Ryan Planes, one of the fishermen who aided in the rescue.
Planes told NBC News affiliates in Seattle that it was ‘emotional,’ as they pulled the man aboard. “He just hugged me and started crying and I just couldn’t believe it. Tears of joy,” said Planes.
The rescued man said he’d survived on salmon that he caught, after he ran out of food and water from the life raft.
The Canadian Coast Guard retrieved the man from the Canadian fishing boat and transported him back to shore where he was reported in stable condition. The other passenger and the Evening are still missing, though the U.S. Coast Guard is continuing to investigate.
While the rescued man has not been publicly identified, it was reported that they were fishing for albacore tuna when the Evening disappeared. Whether the men planned for a delay in their travels, or if they had been lost the entire time remained unclear.
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