PDN news sources
ABERDEEN — The Coast Guard says one man from a capsized fishing boat died and another was rescued off the Pacific coast near Grays Harbor.
Petty Officer Shawn Eggert says the 31-foot boat from Chinook, Renee Marie, capsized around 7:20 p.m. Tuesday, throwing the two Port Orchard men into the water near Cape Elizabeth.
A Coast Guard helicopter unit from and Astoria, Ore., and boat crews from LaPush and Grays Harbor responded.
A helicopter crew found Westin Fowler, 28, unconscious in the water, tangled up in crab-fishing gear. A rescue swimmer was lowered from the helicopter to retrieve Fowler but attempts to revive him failed and he died at Community Hospital in Aberdeen.
The other fisherman, Jeremy Brown, also 28, drifted in a life raft for four hours and fired off at least three flares, the last one “perfectly illuminating” his raft and directing rescuers from the LaPush station to his location, Eggert said. A 27-foot motor life boat rescued Brown at 11:20 p.m. and took him to the hospital, where it was determined that he was well enough to go home.
