In the late summer of 2014, the close-knit community of Juneau, Alaska, was struck by a baffling disappearance. On September 14, 2014, 52-year-old Paul Jordan Keithahn, a male resident known to many, vanished from the waters of Auke Bay. The first sign that something was amiss came the following day when a Good Samaritan vessel spotted Keithahn's 32-foot pleasure craft, the 'Spell Bound,' moving in circles at a slow speed, completely unmanned.
The discovery, about three-quarters of a mile west of Point Louisa, triggered immediate concern and kicked off a large-scale search for the missing boater. At the time of his disappearance, it was thought he may have been wearing a blue stormy seas jacket and his glasses.
An intensive search and rescue operation was swiftly launched in the area where the empty boat was found. The multi-agency effort was extensive, involving the U.S. Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers, and the local search dog team, SEADOGS. Over the course of 32 hours, crews aboard a Coast Guard small rescue boat, the cutter Liberty, and an H-60 helicopter dispatched from Sitka meticulously covered 190 square miles of the surrounding waters. The search efforts were concentrated around Coghlan Island, but despite the thorough and wide-ranging search, no trace of Paul Keithahn was found. The only personal item recovered was his cell phone, which had been left behind on the 'Spell Bound.'
After two days of exhaustive searching yielded no clues as to his whereabouts, officials made the difficult decision to suspend the active search. The Coast Guard expressed its condolences to the family, acknowledging the profound difficulty of ceasing search efforts without a resolution. The circumstances surrounding what happened to Paul Keithahn remain a mystery. One moment he was presumably enjoying a day on his boat in the familiar waters of Auke Bay, and the next, he was gone. The discovery of his empty, circling vessel, with only his phone left on board, provides a haunting final image but no answers, leaving his family, friends, and community with the enduring pain of not knowing what transpired on that September day.Last Seen: Sep 14, 2014
