PORT ANGELES — After more than a week of searching and a flight over the Strait of Juan de Fuca turned up no evidence of two missing Port Angeles fishermen, the families said they believe the men are lost at sea.
The two men — Brooke Bennett, 39, and Rob Larsen, 42 — disappeared Aug. 21 after leaving to go fishing in the Strait at about 6 p.m. that day.
Storm over Strait
Kim Jackson, Larsen’s sister, said a storm over the Strait led to high waters, which would have been dangerous for the two men in the 14-foot motorboat.
“I don’t know — I just don’t know,” Jackson said.
“We know it does not look good.
“At this point, we are presuming them to be lost at sea.”
Although Jackson said Larsen was an experienced boater who was familiar with the currents of the Strait, she and her family were losing hope of finding out what happened that night.
U.S. Coast Guard Group/Air Station Port Angeles suspended the search Aug. 23 after looking for signs of the men over a 700-mile radius with the assistance of the Navy and the Canadian Coast Guard.
Bennett’s family, Jackson, her father Peko Larsen and many family friends have continued to search the shoreline and water through the use of commercial boats.
Tammy Bennett, Brooke’s wife, said she is considering holding a memorial service for her husband sometime in the near future before his parents return to their Palm Springs, Calif., home.
“We have been considering that as some sort of closure before they have to go home,” she said.
“There are so many people out there still searching, and we appreciate that so much.”
Jackson said that aside from one boot, which she is unsure belonged to either man, no evidence has been found of the boat, which she believes capsized and sank.
“We have accepted the fact that they are gone,” she said.
“Anything that happens now would be more of a recovery than a rescue.”
Jackson on Thursday flew with the help of a Bellingham private pilot from Bellingham along the Strait of Juan de Fuca’s shoreline all the way to Neah Bay, back along the water and throughout the San Juan Islands but spotted nothing.
Tammy Bennett last spoke to her husband about one hour after he left on the fishing trip Aug. 21.
He had said then that all was well.
After another 20 to 30 minutes, she tried to phone him again but was not able to contact him.
The Coast Guard used the earlier call to track where the men were at the time — about 4 miles north of Freshwater Bay, Jackson said.
No trace of the men has been found.
The Bennetts have four children and are raising a 17-month-old granddaughter. Larsen is unmarried and has no children.
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Reporter Paige Dickerson can be reached at 360-417-3535 or at paige.dickerson@peninsuladaily news.com.
