The U.S. Coast Guard ended its search Monday for three missing boaters near St. Lawrence Island, after one person was rescued and two others were found dead.
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The 18-foot fishing boat left the Bering Sea island village of Savoonga Friday night and was expected to return to early Sunday morning.
Alaska State Troopers spokesperson, Austin McDaniel, said in an email troopers were notified of the overdue vessel around 2:30 Sunday afternoon. The Coast Guard was notified Sunday night, but was unable to deploy any assets until Monday morning due to “poor weather conditions.”
A crew aboard a HC-130 Hercules aircraft located a 15-year-old survivor clinging to a capsized boat about four miles east of the island, the Coast Guard said in a statement. The crew dropped a life raft and survival equipment before coordinating with a nearby Good Samaritan fishing vessel that responded to help.
The Coast Guard said the survivor was rescued with symptoms of hypothermia. Two other people were recovered unresponsive from the water. All three were brought back to shore aboard the fishing vessel, the Coast Guard said, which arrived in Nome early Tuesday morning.
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Behavioral health resources are being mobilized across the region. The Bering Strait School District plans to send a counselor from Gambell to Savoonga. The district is also coordinating with Norton Sound Health Corporation’s Liitfik Behavioral Health Services team.
Weather will be a factor in getting employees to the island, said Reba Lean,
spokesperson for Norton Sound Health Corporation.
Two behavioral health aides and one clinical associate are already on site, Lean said. When possible, staff from Nome will also travel to the community and provide wellness activities.
To contact Liitfik BHS, call 907-443-3344 between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., Monday through Friday, or call 844-586-8773 for after hours care.
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