The Empty Skiff Between Eek Point and Home: The Disappearance of Francis Charles

A Young Man Vanishes on the Waters Near Hydaburg

Francis Lee Allen Charles was a 21-year-old Native American man from Hydaburg, Alaska, when he disappeared on June 22, 2017. Charles stood approximately five feet six inches tall, weighed about 137 pounds, and had brown hair and brown eyes. Records indicate that he was wearing a dark-colored sweater, a blue flotation coat and tan chest waders on the day he vanished. His disappearance began as an overdue-boater emergency and developed into a large maritime search, but no confirmed trace of him has been found since the first evening.

The Trip Home from Eek Point

Charles was at a fish camp at Eek Point, an area southeast of Hydaburg, on the afternoon of June 22. At approximately noon, he left the camp in an 18-foot skiff and planned to travel back to Hydaburg. The trip required him to cross waters surrounding islands and exposed points near the southern portion of Prince of Wales Island. Nothing in the publicly available accounts indicates that Charles intended to remain away from home or change his destination. When he failed to arrive as expected, concern quickly grew that something had happened during the journey.

An Unoccupied Boat Raises the Alarm...Read More

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