Coast Guard rescues missing hiker from ravine in Olympic National Park. The Coast Guard rescued a missing hiker from a ravine late Sept. 19 near Six Mile trail in the southeast area of Olympic National Park, Seattle. Jerren Fisher entered the park Sept. 8, and was missing for a week. Once in the vicinity, it took the aircrew about 30 minutes to locate the search party. The hiker used a flashlight to vector the helicopter into the area. The Coast Guard aircrew hoisted Fisher from the ravine and took him to Olympia Regional Airport and transferred to awaiting EMS in stable condition. “Thanks to the National Park Service rescue teams who located the stranded hiker and were able to direct our aircrews to achieve a safe rescue,” said Lt. Cmdr. Colin Boyle, 13th District command center chief. “The Coast Guard urges hikers and mariners venturing into remote areas to have a plan for reliable communication to reach first responders if necessary.” Learn more.
Coast Guard, Beach Haven Volunteer Fire Department rescue six from boat crash near Ham Island, N.J. On Sept. 19, a 29-foot Response Boat-Small boatcrew from Coast Guard Station Beach Haven was launched to the scene, along with a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew from Coast Guard Atlantic City, a jet ski crew from Beach Haven Volunteer Fire Department, and Beach Haven Police Department shore crews. The boaters were safely taken back to shore where local emergency medical services personnel transported them to various local hospitals. Sector Delaware Bay issued a safety marine information broadcast to mariners to be aware of potential debris in the area from the crash. Coast Guard crews will be actively working to fix the aid to navigation. Learn more.
Coast Guard interdicts two lancha crews illegally fishing US waters. On Sept. 21, multiple Coast Guard law enforcement crews detected five and interdicted two Mexican lancha boat crews illegally fishing in federal waters off southern Texas. "Through our outstanding partnerships, we closely coordinate all lancha interdictions with partners from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, Air and Marine Operations, Office of Field Operations and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, when inside Texas state waters," said Capt. Hans Govertsen, commander of Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi. "Each case is unique and requires unity of effort to stop illegal fishing in U.S. waters, preventing the depletion of our valuable living marine resources and protecting the sovereignty of our national waters.” Learn more.
Coast Guard crews remain vigilant during operations in the Arctic Region. The Coast Guard demonstrated its commitment to the Bering Sea and Arctic region with deployments of National Security Cutters Bertholf and Kimball, and a U.S. Arctic patrol by icebreaker Coast Guard Cutter Healy. Healy is a 420-foot medium icebreaker homeported in Seattle. “Security in the Bering Sea and the Arctic is homeland security,” said Vice Adm. Michael McAllister, commander, Coast Guard Pacific Area. “The U.S. Coast Guard is continuously present in this important region to uphold American interests and protect U.S. economic prosperity.” Crews interacted with local, national and international vessels throughout the Arctic. During the deployment, Bertholf and Kimball observed four ships from the People’s Liberation Army Navy operating as close as 46 miles off the Aleutian Island coast. While the ships were within the U.S. exclusive economic zone, they followed international laws and norms and at no point entered U.S. territorial waters. Learn more.