ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU/Gray News) – The families of five crew members who went missing after their boat capsized in the Icy Strait are sharing their stories.
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Monday after fishing vessel Wind Walker capsized early Sunday morning near Point Couverden, the southern tip of a small island in Southeast Alaska.
Coast Guard officials confirmed Tuesday the names of the five crew members of the ship who went missing after the boat capsized:
- Travis Kapp
- Jacob Hannah
- Alex Ireland (Zamantakis)
- Emilio Celaya
- Michael Brown
Loved ones of the crew said they are anxiously awaiting updates while holding onto hope that the men may still be alive.
Jacob Hannah’s mother, Carol Hannah, said he moved to Alaska from their home in Oregon roughly two years ago. She described her son as always being the life of the party who could light up a room with his larger-than-life personality.
She said the two would sometimes knock heads over his idea of one day traveling to Alaska to find work aboard fishing boats until one day he finally made the move with a friend, neglecting to inform Carol until after the fact.
Though she initially didn’t support the idea, she said it was the best decision he could have ever made.
“I couldn’t be mad at him because that’s what he’s lived for — is for going to Alaska and fishing,” Carol Hannah said. “So he did what he wanted throughout his life. I’m very proud because Alaska is what helped him become the man he was.”
Only in Alaska for six months, Celaya, 34, had only recently taken up a career in fishing, with this trip being his first time out on a boat, according to his aunt Stephanie Molt.
She said the five men had been fishing for black cod before the vessel was reported to have capsized.
Originally from Las Vegas, his aunt described him as a loving family man and always a “daredevil.” A former firefighter with the Forest Service, he loved riding motorcycles, snowboarding and fishing.
Celaya was married to his wife Deseriee with a 12-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter along with two stepchildren.
“We are all so devastated,” Molt said. “He lost a son to drowning at 18 months old 10 years ago. His son was going to be 10 years old this year, so we were planning a big family celebration. We’re all just still taking it very hard. Everybody is heartbroken.”
Family members of Alex Ireland said he preferred to use the last name Zamantakis. His father Mike Zamantakis described him as being adventurous, which is largely what took him to Alaska to begin with.
His family said that while the landscape and wildlife were also a large pull, above all else, it was the fishing. His brothers Nick and Jarett Zamantakis described him as a fisherman by heart his entire life.
“He loved to fish,” Mike Zamantakis said. “It didn’t matter where we went, he had a pole in the water someplace, so being on a commercial fishing boat was right up his alley.”
The avid fisherman grew up in Utah before moving to Alaska roughly four years ago to pursue a career in fishing and met Anna, the mother of his newborn son, named “Little Alex” after his father.
Several GoFundMe campaigns were started this week to help the families of the five men, including Capt. Travis Kapp, Alex Ireland, Jacob Hannah, and EJ Celaya.
So far, more than $25,000 has been raised between all four campaigns as of Wednesday afternoon.
The U.S. Coast Guard District released a statement on the search that lasted nearly 24 hours and covered 108 square nautical miles.
The distress call first came in Sunday at 12:10 a.m. about a 50-foot fishing boat being overturned. An emergency radio beacon registered to the Wind Walker was activated and pinpointed the distress signal.
After the search was suspended, Chief Warrant Officer James Koon released a statement that he stood in sorrow and solidarity with the friends and family of the people they were not able to find.
“I am deeply grateful for the swiftness of our crews and other search assets who came together to amplify our efforts and completely saturate our search areas. Our collective hearts are with the friends and families of (those) who are experiencing the effects of this loss,” he said.
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