COOS BAY, Ore. (KOIN) -- Five men are still missing and presumed dead after their fishing boat capsized off the Alaskan coast early Sunday morning.
One of the fishermen, 22-year-old Jake Hannah, is from Coos Bay.
His close friend and fellow fisherman Ben Martinez-Yates tells KOIN 6 he’s still in disbelief after hearing the news.
“Usually, this time of year up there, the weather gets really, really nasty. The weather is just unpredictable, and boats ice up and stuff happens," said Martinez-Yates.
Hannah was aboard the 50-foot "Wind Walker" when it made an emergency radio call near Juneau very early Sunday.
“When they went to turn around, they flipped over and the boat capsized,” said Martinez-Yates.
The U.S. Coast Guard responded by air and sea but neither the boat nor the crew were located. The search was officially called off late Monday.
A GoFundMe page launched to support Jake’s family says they’re trying to fund a recovery mission to locate the missing boat and crew, but that the effort could cost up to $8,000 a day.
An excerpt from the page describes Jake as a, "son, brother, father, boyfriend and VERY beloved friend has been lost at sea. Jake Hannah traveled to Alaska to chase his dream as a commercial fisherman. Jake had his ups and downs, he struggled heavily with addiction, but once he hit Alaska he knew this was where he wanted to be. He found his passion and reason to exist.”
Martinez-Yates says his friend was about to start operating his own fishing vessel, something he dreamed of for years.
“He was right there. He almost got the money he needed for the permits,” said Martinez-Yates. “It almost doesn’t even seem real.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
