The U.S. Coast Guard investigation is continuing into the May 28 charter fishing boat accident near Sitka that left four people dead and one still missing and presumed dead.
The body of the Sitka-based boat captain was recovered June 8, leaving only passenger Robert Solis, 61, of California, still missing.
Alaska State Troopers reported that 32-year-old Morgan Robidou’s body was recovered by divers from the Sitka Fire Department. Troopers said Robidou was found in the Low Island area in Sitka Sound as crews worked to salvage the outboard motors of the Awakin, which had capsized with five passengers aboard in the Sitka Sound.
Hanson Maritime, of Sitka, was in charge of raising and then towing the 30-foot aluminum vessel to town. Owner Lee Hanson said raising the submerged boat went well on June 3. Divers used four 6,000-pound inflation bags and four 2,000-pound inflation bags, which was more than enough to raise the vessel.
To preserve the boat’s electronics, the Awakin was kept partially submerged for the tow, which took about four hours, he said.
The vessel was towed back to town on June 4 by the tugboat Salvation and taken to the Hanson dock at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park, where it was hauled out with a crane for transport to an indoor facility for the investigation.
The bodies of three of the charter boat passengers — Maury Agcaoili, 57, and partner Danielle Agcaoili, 53, both of Waipahu, Hawaii, and Danielle’s sister Brandi Tyau, 56, of Canoga Park, California — were recovered within days of the accident.
The Awakin was working under Kingfisher Charters.
The boat was reported overdue the evening of May 28. A Coast Guard helicopter was launched for a search, and around 7 p.m. that evening searchers located the boat, with only the bow above water, off Low Island, 10 miles southwest of Sitka.
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