PETERSBURG – A local boater is safe after a search involving Petersburg Search and Rescue members Monday evening, authorities said.
The man launched his 14-foot skiff from Banana Point on the south end of Mitkof Island Monday. When a family member became concerned they called emergency personnel.
Petersburg SAR Director Robert Carter got the call around 8 p.m. Carter and SAR volunteer Ted Sanhofer contacted witnesses who thought they saw the lost man on a small island near Green’s Camp.
The two SAR volunteers set up base camp at Greens Camp and found the man around 9:30 p.m. after shining spotlights on the island.
“The winds were howling,” Carter said. “He would occasionally get up and we could see him on the beach. Because of the wind there was no way to communicate with him and he did not have communications or a cell phone.”
Carter said the water was too dangerous to launch a rescue boat and he guided Coast Guard.
Petty Officer Shawn Eggert, U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs Specialist, said emergency responders were able to hoist the man off the island using an MH 60 Jayhawk helicopter.
Coast guard rescuers lifted him off the island around midnight.
Eggert said the skiff’s engine broke down and the man made an emergency landing on the island.
The man was transported to Petersburg Medical Center but no injuries were reported.
“He was cold but in good condition,” Carter said.
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