Call That Sparked Search May Have Been
Hoax
http://www.kirotv.com/news/16966987/detail.html
SEATTLE -- The Coast Guard search sparked by a mysterious radio
call they received from a girl who identified herself only as "Kelsey"
Tuesday night was called off Wednesday morning and Coast Guard
officials said it's possible the call may have been a hoax.
The little girl who said she was 6 years old, called the Coast Guard
shortly after 5 p.m. Tuesday, saying that someone with her --possibly
named "Kelly," who was her aunt, -- was "asleep in the water" and
was "not waking up." The girl also said, "we're in the water."
The transmission was picked up on radio towers in southern Puget
Sound and the Coast Guard began a search using radio directional
equipment.
A Coast Guard helicopter crew from Port Angeles and a small boat
crew from Seattle searched the waters off Pierce County's Fox Island
in Carr Inlet Tuesday night and Wednesday morning but found no sign
of the little girl, a drifting vessel or anything unusual.
Captain Steve Metruck, who launched the search, said he listened to
all seven minutes of the call from the girl.
"That's what was a little frustrating because we tried to talk to her and
asked her, 'Where do you go to school?' -- 'I go to school at home,'
(she answered). We asked, 'Where do you live?' - 'Washington,' (she
answered). Questions about, 'Where are you?' - 'In the water,' (she
answered)," said Metruck.
In all, the Coast Guard put in nine hours of time in the water and in
the air and contacted some 100 vessels before the search was called
off at 10:30 a.m.
"This perhaps was a hoax call. We don't know. It's a mystery at this
point, but if it was a hoax call, it's particularly heinous in our view to
use a child to perpetrate this hoax mayday call," said Metruck.
Officials asked anyone with information about the incident to call the
Coast Guard.
VIDEO: Distress Call May Have Been Hoax, Officials Say
Coast Guard seeks source of mystery call
STACEY MULICK; stacey.mulick@thenewstribune.com
Last updated: July 24th, 2008 01:24 AM (PDT)
U.S. Coast Guard officials are trying to unravel a mysterious distress call they received
Tuesday night from a young girl who reported a family member in trouble.
Despite hours of searching the waters around Fox Island on Tuesday night and
Wednesday morning, the Coast Guard was not able to locate the girl, the relative or the
boat where the radio call came from. The Coast Guard suspended the search until further
notice before noon Wednesday.
Now, the agency is trying to determine whether the radio call from a girl who identified
herself as “Kelsey” was a hoax.
The girl called the Coast Guard at 5:11 p.m. Tuesday using VHF Channel 16, a radio
channel boaters use to directly contact the Coast Guard if they need assistance, U.S.
Coast Guard spokesman Jeff Pollinger said Wednesday. The caller reported a relative,
possibly named Kelly, was in the water and possibly unconscious, Pollinger said.
The girl, who is believed to be 6 years old, stopped transmitting before officials were able
to get her location. The Coast Guard has not heard from her since the initial call. The
Coast Guard launched a helicopter from Port Angeles and a 41-foot utility boat from
Seattle. Crews searched for about seven hours Tuesday night but found no boater in
distress, Pollinger said.
An aircraft resumed the search Wednesday morning and was focusing on the Fox Island
area in Pierce County. Officials have determined that’s where the girl’s call likely came
from.
They also are investigating whether the call was related to two green flares spotted
Tuesday night in the same area. Normally, red flares are used by boaters in distress,
Poolinger said.
“We don’t know if both cases are related,” he said.
The Coast Guard was broadcasting an emergency message, asking boaters in the area to
“keep a sharp lookout and report anything to the Coast Guard,” Pollinger said.
They’d like to hear from anyone else who heard the girl’s call.
Anyone with information is asked to call the Coast Guard’s Seattle office at 206-2176001.
Stacey Mulick: 253-597-8268
blogs.thenewstribune.com/crime
Originally published: July 24th, 2008 01:24 AM (PDT)
Searchers unable to find girl who
made distress call
http://www.katu.com/news/local/25835949.html
SEATTLE -- The Coast Guard has suspended the search for a boater who might
have been in trouble in Puget Sound.
The Coast Guard received a distress call from a 6-year-old girl who identified
herself as "Kelsey" at 6:13 p.m. Tuesday and said someone she was with,
possibly named "Kelly" - was "in the water" and was "not waking up." (Listen to
the radio call.)
The segment of the call released by the Coast Guard was part of a 7-minute
conversation with the girl, officials said. Not much more was said during the
remainder of the call, officials said.
"They asked her what school she went to. She said she's schooled at home,
basically that's all the information we were able to get out of her other than
repeating that she was on the water and that her aunt, Kelly, was sleep," said Lt.
Ron Owens.
The Coast Guard said late Wednesday morning that they suspended the search
because of the hundreds of boaters who have been out in the area of the search,
the Coast Guard has not heard definitively from any of them that they saw a boat
or that they had any type of indication that a girl was in trouble alone in a boat.
Originally, the Coast Guard said they didn't believe the call was a hoax and are
still ready to resume the search if more information becomes available.
"It very well could be (a hoax), but our policy is to treat all cases as potential or
actual distress. And we have to prosecute each case to the fullest until we
receive amplifying information that suggest otherwise," said Owens.
"Unfortunately, children get a hold of their parents marine radio and start
broadcasting unbeknownst to their parents, and cause a lot of work for the men
and women of the Coast Guard."
The call came in on VHF Channel 16, which is the channel typically used for
boaters to contact the Coast Guard if they are in trouble. The girl didn't say where
she was located, but the signal originated in South Puget Sound area, and
search efforts were focused around Fox Island just south of the Tacoma Narrows
Bridge.
The Coast Guard recently implemented a new radio direction-finding system
known as Rescue 21 that allows locations of radio calls to be triangulated, but
the call from the young girl was only picked up on one receiver, so an exact
location could not be determined.
The Coast Guard searched the area by boat and by air, but did not find anyone
believed to be Kelsey.
Additional aircraft were brought in Wednesday morning to assist with the search,
but the Coast Guard called off the search after confirming no boaters had been
reported missing.
Anyone who heard the girl on the radio or can provide additional information is
urged to contact the Coast Guard Sector Seattle at (206) 217-6001.
The penalties for a hoax call includes the reimbursement of all the costs of the
search and a $250,000 fine.
Cutter Fir earns Coast Guard award
By KARA HANSEN
The Daily Astorian
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Rear Adm. John Currier, commander of the U.S. Coast Guard 13th District in Seattle,
arrived at Tongue Point by helicopter Tuesday to recognize the Astoria-based Cutter Fir
for a year of "exceptionally meritorious service."
Between late April 2007 and early May 2008, the 225-foot buoytender "exemplified the
Coast Guard's multi-mission ethos," according to a unit commendation citation read to all
hands gathered on the mess deck.
Currier called the ship "one of our key assets" in the Coast Guard's 13th District, which
oversees and supports operational units in Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.
"You guys do the whole mission set, including (servicing) some nasty aids where access
is tough," he said. "The north Pacific Ocean in the wintertime is enough of a challenge,
and the whole mission set you guys do is pretty amazing."
The Fir's primary mission is to maintain a system of navigation aids that keeps boats and
ships on course off the Oregon and Washington coasts and along regional rivers. Cranes
and winches heave buoys as big a 35 feet tall and 9 feet in diameter out of the water and
aboard the ship, its sides reinforced for protection from the 9-ton titans and football-sized
chain links dragged onto the decks.
But in addition, the buoytender enforces U.S. fisheries and marine resources laws while
staying on hand for search and rescue cases and pollution response.
Over almost one year, the unit led enforcement of marine resources regulations for the
entire Pacific Northwest district, boarding 35 vessels and finding 43 safety violations, 11
fisheries violations and terminating three voyages. The ship spent more than 2,500 hours
at sea during that time, exceeding the mandated 2,100 hours by almost 40 percent.
The crew received accolades for a period when the ship was tied up at the dock. When
the two-day December 2007 storm wiped out utilities up and down the North Coast,
including the communications system at Coast Guard Group Astoria, the buoytender set
up a 24-hour communications watch for seven days, guarding secure and nonsecure
circuits for the local base.
Lt. Stephen Walters, the ship's executive officer, said landing the district-level
recognition is "pretty big."
"It's good recognition for the hard work we've been doing," he said.
"We train really heavily and we're always ready, and it shows," said Lt. j.g. Roland Orr,
operations officer on the Fir.
"Another reason we're getting this (commendation) is because we've been very diligent
about turning all our lights over to LEDs," he said. The Fir led all Pacific buoytenders in
equipping navigation aids with light-emitting diodes, which cost more up front than
standard lamps but last longer, saving money in the long run.
"As of now, all of our offshore aids are LEDs," Orr said. "If we get another 30-year
storm, hopefully these will last."
Tuesday was the rear admiral's first time on the buoytender since he took control of the
agency's 13th District last August. He stopped in Astoria during a "sweep" of the
southern reaches of his area of responsibility.
During the visit, Currier spent a few minutes extending informal praise to three members
of the crew: Petty Officer 2nd Class Matthew Staton, a machinery technician who he said
sets "an outstanding example" aboard the ship; Petty Officer 3rd Class Daniel McNealy, a
boatswain's mate who has "displayed great leadership" in his 1 1/2 years on the Fir; and
Petty Officer 2nd Class Nathan Miller, a health services technician who works as an
independent corpsman and has a "great attitude," Currier said, adding: "It's very difficult
to be an independent-duty anything aboard one of these units."
He also fielded questions about the Coast Guard's latest reorganization, which will divide
the service into those who support missions and those who carry them out.
Fir Cmdr. Andy Raiha asked whether Currier, his operational commander, would oversee
those responsible for making sure "I get what I need" to execute Coast Guard missions.
Currier said no, "the short answer is we will not have maintenance support" working
directly under mission operators.
Orr, the ship's operations officer, had a similar question.
"I'm wondering how it specifically would affect district level cutters, things like the Fir or
the Henry Blake and other cutters that aren't area assets, and how that's going to filter
down to the unit level here," he said.
"We know we're going to need a field structure for cutter-level maintenance," Currier
responded. But he "wasn't prepared to give" answer, adding: "It's in the works."
"A lot of this change is about money," he said. "The effect we're trying to achieve is
increased availability for your skipper at a managed cost, because every dollar we waste
is a dollar we can't put into assets and training."
The reorganization, he said, is "kind of bringing the Coast Guard into the 21st century in
terms of cost control processes and efficiencies."
Alaska Ranger sinking prompts Coast Guard warning
about propellers
By Hal Bernton
Seattle Times staff reporter
The federal investigation into the sinking of the Alaska Ranger has prompted the Coast Guard to
issue an unusual safety warning to ship owners about the risks of controllable-pitch propellers
that can go into reverse when electric power is lost.
The Coast Guard decided to issue the notice to ship owners and operators because "sitting on
this for six months is against the interest of marine safety," said Capt. Mike Rand, chairman of the
Marine Board of Investigation. "That's why we got it out right away."
The Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating why the Ranger
sank, triggering one of the largest open-water rescues in Coast Guard history. A final report is
expected within six months.
Five of the 47 crewmen perished in the frigid Bering Sea after the ship lost power on Easter
Sunday and then went into reverse, severely hampering the crew's ability to safely abandon ship.
The reverse course also may have played a role in the final stages of flooding that sank the
vessel, Coast Guard investigators say.
Nationwide, hundreds of seagoing ships have controllable-pitch propulsion systems, which allow
the angle of the propeller blades to be adjusted to improve efficiency and directional control.
"The Coast Guard strongly recommends that owners, operators and masters of vessels with
controllable-pitch propellers understand the design and operation of the system," the Coast
Guard safety notice states.
Rand said he struggled with how to word the warning, which was issued earlier this month,
because it is not clear that all controllable-pitch systems will send a vessel into reverse if electric
power is lost. Also unclear is at what point that might happen.
The Coast Guard alert also noted that on the cruise ship MS Explorer, the controllable-pitch
propeller flipped into reverse after the ship lost electrical power Nov. 23 while off Antarctica. The
154 tourists, guides and crew were safely evacuated. But after they were in their life boats, the
ship began traveling backward. The Explorer sank the next day.
Difficult decision
The Ranger's troubles on March 23 began after it suffered a leak in its stern while cruising to a
mackerel-fishing ground in the Bering Sea. The ship was part of a trawl fleet that catches and
processes fish at sea, and was operated by the Seattle-based Fishing Company of Alaska.
As the water kept rising, the Ranger's lights began to flicker and electric power was lost,
according to a survivor's testimony. The vessel then went into reverse and soon listed sharply,
according to testimony from survivors.
The ship's officers in the wheelhouse, Capt. Eric Peter Jacobsen of Lynnwood and First Mate
David Silveira of San Diego, faced a dismal choice. They could keep the main engine running,
which would propel the boat backward. Or, they could use battery-operated controls to shut down
the engine, which would leave the vessel adrift.
The engines kept running and the vessel kept going in reverse as the crew prepared to evacuate.
Coast Guard officials are still trying to understand the decisions made that day in the wheelhouse.
Both Jacobsen and Silveira perished.
The Coast Guard safety alert noted the hazards of trying to evacuate a ship that's moving in
reverse.
Typically, life rafts -- attached to the vessel by lines -- are supposed to be drawn tight against the
vessel's side, so that crew can board them. But the Alaska Ranger was moving backward, so two
of three life rafts shot to a position forward of the bow.
Stranded aboard a sinking ship, most of the 47 crew members were then forced to jump into the
34-degree water.
"Ultimately, only 22 members of the vessel's crew made it into the life rafts. Of the other 25
members who never made it into a life raft, four died and one remains missing," the Coast Guard
notice stated.
"Going down pretty fast"
It's unclear what caused the initial leak in the ship's stern. But even after water flooded rear
compartments, the vessel initially appeared to ride steady in the water, without listing unduly from
side to side, according to crew testimony. Some survivors said they had hoped the vessel would
stay afloat until a sister ship could come to the crew's rescue.
After the electrical system failed, the propeller lapsed into reverse. The vessel listed sharply and
appeared to be in a much more precarious position, according to survivors.
"That's when things started getting supercritical," said Gwen Rains, a federal fishery observer
who survived the sinking. "We started going down pretty fast after that."
Those eyewitness accounts appear to match what some experts note about the Alaska Ranger's
design. Even with water rushing in the stern compartments, the vessel was designed to be able to
float, said Herbert Roeser, chairman of Trans Marine Propulsion Systems, a Seattle-based
company that helped maintain the Alaska Ranger.
But once the vessel started going into reverse, the stern would have been driven down into the
sea. Water then would have flowed on deck, then down into the fish-factory area below deck,
which could have had a disastrous effect on stability, Roeser said.
"When we got water into the factory area, then we were in trouble with her," said Roeser, who
wasn't on the boat but analyzed the events of that day. He also testified in a June Coast Guard
hearing in Boston.
Coast Guard investigators are developing a model to simulate the effects that the reverse motion
had on the vessel's stability, Rand said.
"We hope the model will be able to explain this," Rand said.
Hal Bernton: 206-464-2581 or hbernton@seattletimes.com
Copyright © 2008 The Seatt