POINT REYES NATIONAL SEASHORE (CBS SF) — Works crews have been carefully salvaging a beached 42-foot commercial fishing boat from the shoreline at Point Reyes National Park this week while Coast Guard investigators were trying to unravel the mystery about what happened aboard the Seastar that led to the grounding.
The Coast Guard said a body was discovered near the floundering boat when it was spotted adrift over the weekend. The man’s identity has not been released.
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“While Coast Guard crews recovered and transported the person found in the water, the Seastar drifted off Elephant Rock and ran ashore on Kehoe Beach,” said Capt. Taylor Lam, the Sector San Francisco commander. “The Coast Guard crews and partner agencies are working to remove the boat and ensure the area is safe for the local community.”
The National Park Service has shut down access to the trails leading to the beach.
The Coast Guard said the incident began when watchstanders received reports of the unmanned boat Seastar adrift just North of Point Reyes around 9:20 a.m. Friday.
The agency launched a helicopter crew, a 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew and a Coast Guard Air Station Sacramento C-27 Spartan aircraft to the scene.
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The boat crew arrived on scene around 10:15 a.m., boarded the Seastar, which was on the rocks, and did not attempt to tow the boat due to pollution and boat damage concerns.
They confirmed the boat was unmanned, reported the captain missing and immediately began searching along with the other response craft and a Sonoma County Sheriff helicopter, personal watercraft crews and National Parks Service personnel.
The Coast Guard helicopter crew located an unresponsive person in the water at approximately 1:35 p.m. and directed the boat crew to the location.
The boat crew recovered the body and transported him to Station Bodega Bay where he was transferred to the Sonoma County coroner. His identity has not been released.
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The cause of the incident remained under investigation.
Source: sanfrancisco.cbslocal.com.