Teen survives boating tragedy, two lost their lives at sea

A 15-year-old fisherman is the only survivor of a maritime tragedy involving a crew of three who departed Savoonga in a small fishing vessel on Friday, Sept. 4, and were reported missing on Sunday at 2:30 pm.
On Monday afternoon, U.S. Coast Guard officials said, the two deceased crewmembers were recovered after the rescue of the teenager, who survived for days in the ocean sitting on the overturned Lund boat. He was reportedly experiencing symptoms of hypothermia. The location of the overturned Lund was, according to the Coast Guard, about four miles east of St. Lawrence Island.
According to the Coast Guard, a Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Air Station Kodiak located the survivor clinging on the capsized vessel around 10:30 a.m. on Monday and deployed a raft along with survival equipment.
The Coast Guard then coordinated the rescue of the survivor with the Northwest Explorer, a nearby good Samaritan vessel, conducting a NOAA surface trawl survey in the area. Before departing the scene to refuel, the HC-130 aircrew deployed a line of flares to guide the Northwest Explorer to the overturned vessel.
Once the research vessel arrived, the survivor was hoisted aboard the Northwest Explorer.
According to the Coast Guard, the two deceased boaters were also recovered from the water, taken aboard the good Samaritan vessel and transported to Nome with the survivor.
On Tuesday morning, the Northwest Explorer arrived in Nome and docked at the causeway. The survivor received medical attention, was released and traveled home to Savoonga via a regularly scheduled Bering Air flight.

The timeline
The fishing boat left Savoonga on Friday and was expected to arrive back in Savoonga by Sunday 3 a.m.
The Alaska State Troopers have not released a dispatch of the Search and Rescue, but following a request for information from the Nugget, an AST spokesperson said via email that AST was notified around 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 6 that the vessel was overdue. “A initial local SAR effort was active out of Savoonga at that time,” the spokesperson wrote. “Once Savoonga officials notified us that they were unable to respond due to weather, AST activated the Alaska Air National Guard’s Rescue Coordination Center and US Coast Guard to mobilize higher level search and rescue resources.”
This activation of the Rescue Coordination Center took place at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday night, six hours after AST was notified of the overdue vessel. 
According to the Coast Guard, weather hampered their immediate response. “Due to on-scene weather conditions and poor visibility, an aircrew in an HC-130 Hercules airplane from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak launched Monday morning and has arrived on scene,” the Coast Guard said in a press release. Meanwhile, shore-based searches were conducted by Savoonga Search and Rescue volunteers.
On Monday morning, the Coast Guard’s HC-130 spotted the survivor. 
The Coast Guard Arctic District coordinated search efforts with the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, the Air Force 176th Rescue Wing and 211th Rescue Squadron from Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska State Troopers, and local authorities in Savoonga, according to a Coast Guard press release.
In total, two HC-130s, two MH 60 Jayhawk helicopters from Air Station Kodiak, and a C-130 with Air Force Para-Rescue Jumpers from the 176th Rescue Wing were also launched to assist.
“Our hearts go out to the families, friends, and communities affected by the tragic loss of these two mariners,” said Rear Adm. Bob Little, the commander of the Arctic District. “We are grateful for the incredible efforts of the motor vessel Northwest Explorer, Federal, State, Village first responders and mission partners who assisted in the effort that resulted in a life saved.”
Criticism of the slow response time is dominating discussions on social media, along with calls for a permanent Coast Guard presence in the region to cut down response time as assets must be brought in from Kodiak. Refueling and crew requirements are adding barriers to fast response times.
The Alaska National Guard supported the search efforts at St. Lawrence Island in coordination with the U.S. Coast Guard Arctic District and the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, said Dana Rosso, Chief of Operations at the Alaska National Guard, Public Affairs in an email to the Nugget. Asked if the National Guard’s Black Hawk stationed in Nome was involved, Rosso said, no, it wasn’t.  “Regarding the Alaska Army National Guard Black Hawk normally assigned to Nome, that aircraft is currently supporting out-of-state training and therefore was not available for this mission,” he wrote. “A replacement Black Hawk is expected to arrive in Nome within the coming weeks. Additionally, Alaska Army National Guard Black Hawks are not equipped for over-water rescue missions. For this search, appropriately equipped rescue aircraft and personnel from the U.S. Coast Guard and the Alaska Air National Guard were deployed to support the mission.”
As of press time, officials have not identified the victims or the survivor’s name. 
GoFundme campaigns were started by relatives to help with the financial strain on the families.