Rescuers search for missing
Ketchikan man
November 05, 2004
Friday
Ketchikan, Alaska - Rescuers searched Thursday for a 42-year-old
man from Ketchikan who was swept away in the current at Bakewell
Creek approximately 35 miles East of Ketchikan at the head of
Smeaton Bay.
According to information released
by the USCG and the Alaska State Troopers, Forest Service fisheries
biologist Ricardo Sainz of Ketchikan and two other USFS
employees were rowing in a 14 foot skiff across Bakewell Lake.
It was reported by the AST that all three jumped into the water
when the skiff was overcome by a strong current created by the
Bakewell Lake Creek drainage which leads to a 50 to 60 foot waterfall
prior to spilling into the salt water. Sainz was swept away by
the current.
The strong current
of Bakewell Creek is depicted in this photograph...
Official U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer Zephyr Mays,
Air Station Sitka
The Forest Service employees working with Sainz used their VHF-FM
radio to notify search and rescue coordinators of the incident,
and began to search for Sainz along the creek. A rescue effort
conducted by the Alaska State Troopers, the United States Coast
Guard, the United States Forest Service and the Ketchikan Volunteer
Rescue Squad went underway immediately and continued until dark
Thursday with negative results.
Ketchikan's weather Thursday
had an air temperature of 38 degrees Fahrenheit, five miles
of visibility with misting rain and calm winds.
A United States Coast Guard
110 foot vessel along with a Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad
41 foot vessel will remain in the area overnight. The search
is scheduled to continue at first light Friday. Next of kin have
been notified.
Sources of News:
Alaska State Troopers
Web Site
United States Coast Guard
Web Site
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