Recovery efforts underway for 3 missing people after shrimping boat sinks in Everett

EVERETT, Wash. — A water rescue mission for three people missing off the shore near Everett turned into a recovery effort this evening.

Four people were plunged into the water in Possession Sound Wednesday afternoon shortly after 1 p.m. after their boat started sinking.

One man in his 50s was rescued by a good Samaritan passing by, he is reportedly uninjured tonight. The three people missing include a man in his 20s, a man in his 60s, and a woman in her 40s.

Everett Fire says the boat took on water and ultimately sank northeast of Mukilteo, about 200 feet offshore.

Everett Fire, Everett Police, and the U.S. Coast Guard spent hours Wednesday afternoon trying to find those missing, using technology including infrared cameras.

“Those crews are going to go out there and truly look like they’re looking for a family member,” said Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier with U.S. Coast Guard Public Affairs.

There is no word on what caused the boat to take on water.

The four people on board had been out shrimping. Wednesday was the first day of the shrimp season in Washington.

“The shrimp opener in Puget Sound is quite an event,” said Joey Pyburn, Host of the hunting and fishing show The Outdoor Line Radio Show. “We usually get one day, maybe two days in inner Puget Sound. That’s it. That’s all we get all year. So people kind of flock to the water.”

Pyburn said there should have been a lot of boats on the water for the event.

By nightfall, crews had no updates on those missing.

“Here in Puget Sound, we have a lot of tides. Those currents can move people around,” Strohmaier said. “We don’t know if they’re wearing life jackets or dry suits like that. Stuff like that can really help improve the likelihood that you’re going to be able to survive in this cold water.”

Everett PD says they will continue recovery efforts into tomorrow.

At 10:45 p.m. Wednesday, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) suspended the search for the missing boaters off Everett. According to the USCG, two separate boat crews from Seattle, a crew aboard an 87-foot patrol boat, and an aircrew from Port Angeles searched 130 sq. miles using visual scanning and infrared cameras.

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