Two dead, one missing after fishing boat capsizes


Thursday, October 19 2006
Kodiak, AK – The names of two people who died when the fishing vessel Ocean Challenger capsized Wednesday have been released, but the search continues for Kodiak resident Steve Esparza, who was a crewmember of the boat.
The deceased are listed as 51-year-old David Hafflequist of Hoonah, the skipper of the Ocean Challenger, and 26-year-old Walter Foster of Westport, Washington, a crewmember aboard the boat.
The lone survivor is crewmember Kevin Ferrell from Lynchburg, Virginia, who was transferred to an Anchorage medical facility from a facility in Cold Bay last night. Ferrell was the only crewmember wearing a survival suit, the Coast Guard says.
The search for Esparza continues. The Coast Guard says he was not wearing a survival suit. A C-130 deployed from Air Station Kodiak and an HH-60 helicopter from Cold Bay arrived on scene 60 miles south of Sand Point at dawn today to help with the search. The aircraft rejoined the Coast Guard cutter Munro, which was on scene overnight.
Weather conditions in the area are 11 foot seas with 23 knot winds. The water temperature is 40 degrees.
Barry McKee, the Ocean Challenger's owner, says the vessel had been fishing for black cod near the Sanak Islands and was heading to Sand Point when it capsized. The vessel is home ported in Adak.