SITKA, Alaska — A Sequim man was found dead Monday morning in a fishing vessel that had run aground on Kuiu Island in southeast Alaska.
A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Sitka declared Fredrick E. Washburn, 72, dead when they reached the 36-foot fishing vessel, Allman Joy, at 9:15 a.m. on the shore of Gedney Harbor, said Alaska State Patrol spokeswoman Beth Ipsen.
Washburn’s body was initially taken to the State Patrol office in Sitka, which is handling the investigation, and later transported to Anchorage for an autopsy, Ipsen said.
Kuiu Island, which has logging camps but no permanent residencies, is located 130 miles south of Juneau on the east end of Chatham Strait, across from Port Alexander and 40 miles west of Petersburg.
The cause of death is unknown, but foul play is not suspected, Ipsen said.
“At this point, we think it’s natural causes,” she said.
Ipsen said Washburn was fishing commercially alone. She did not know which port he departed from, or how long he had been at sea.
Washburn has held commercial fishing permits in Alaska since 1991, she said.
A crew member of the fishing vessel C’est La Vie reported to the Coast Guard at 7:50 a.m. that the crew had found Washburn unconscious.
No one else has reported seeing the Allman Joy at sea or after it had run aground, Ipsen said.
A salvage company has been hired to remove oil and fuel from the Allman Joy.
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The Juneau Empire contributed to this report.
Reporter Tom Callis can be reached at 360-417-3532 or at tom.callis@peninsuladailynews.com.
