Two die after fishing boat capsizes off Depoe Bay

The U.S. Coast Guard said late Friday night it had ended a search off the Oregon coast and recovered the bodies of two boaters who died when their fishing boat capsized off of Depoe Bay.

The names of the boat owner, a 81-year-old man from McMinnville, and a 75-year-old man were withheld pending notification of family members.. “As those who work every day to help save lives, a case like this is extremely impactful on all of us,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Mike Brown, search and rescue coordinator for the Coast Guard 13th District. “Our thoughts and best wishes are with the family and friends who have been impacted by the loss of their loved ones.”

Shortly before 5 p.m., the Coast Guard received a call from a boater who reported finding a capsized vessel with debris in the water off of Depoe Bay Harbor. Response crews from Station Depoe Bay and Sector Columbia River immediately responded.

Coast Guard 47-foot Motor Life Boat crews from Station Depoe Bay and Station Yaquina Bay, along with a helicopter crew from Sector Columbia River and the crew of the 87-foot patrol boat Coast Guard Cutter Adelie, responded to the search area.

The Station Depoe Bay MLB crew recovered one unresponsive individual and the MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Sector Columbia River found a second unresponsive individual who was also recovered by the MLB crew.

Information from family members confirmed that only the two men were aboard the vessel. It was reported that the two men had gone to the coast for the day to go fishing.