Montesano, Wash. — "It's just got to be horrible, it's got to be horrible," said Ken Decker, who is grieving the death of two friends John Reid and Fred Swenson, who were lost when their fish boat sank near Sitka, Alaska, on Thursday.
A third friend, Dennis Monroe, is the only one who made it to shore. Decker whose two sons were killed in a similar accident a few years ago, says he knows the pain Dennis Monroe is feeling. "To see John just swept away right in front of his eyes. I hope he doesn't have any guilty feelings, but sometimes a person just does."
Mike Clark is the brother in-law of Fred Swenson. Clark says it appears the men who were out on a 24-foot boat had some problems with their GPS and ended up in rough seas. The boat was swamped and they ended up in the 55-degree water. Clark said "hypothermia set in pretty quickly."
Clark says his brother in-law Fred Swenson and Dennis Monroe both managed to swim to an exposed rock after the boat sank, but when they tried to make it the remaining 100 yards to shore, Fred Swenson, a husband and father of two young boys, couldn't make it to shore. His family is praying for a miracle but they are realistic.
Mike Clark said, "We just know it's slim to none under the harsh conditions out there and Fred is one tough guy and I just know his last moments were just praying he could hold on for his wife and kids."
Three men from Montesano involved in Alaska fishing boat tragedy
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