On May 27, 1972, a then 23-year-old Melvin William Torsen was aboard the fishing vessel Addington in the waters of Alaska. He, along with two other crew members, was engaged in crab fishing in the often-treacherous Shelikof Strait, a body of water known for its challenging conditions. The vessel, reported to be a 65-foot crabber, found itself near Cape Uganik on the west side of Kodiak Island when tragedy struck. Little is known about the specific moments leading to the incident, but the outcome was the sinking of the F/V Addington, a vessel that had been built in Seattle in 1927. The report of the event reached the Alaska State Troopers the following day, May 28, 1972, beginning a case that would span decades.
The loss of the Addington was sudden and complete, taking with it all three souls on board. Melvin Torsen, who was the skipper of the vessel and a resident of Kodiak, vanished into the cold Alaskan waters. He was not alone in this fate. Also lost were his crewmates, Clarence 'John' Cheplak, who was 31 and also from Kodiak, and Leonard Niemi of Anchorage. The unforgiving nature of the Shelikof Strait, which had seen other maritime tragedies, claimed the lives of these three men, leaving behind families and a community to mourn their sudden and permanent absence. The circumstances surrounding the sinking are tied to the perils of the sea, with another vessel loss just days earlier attributed to winds gusting up to 100 miles per hour in the same general region.
Years have passed since the F/V Addington was lost, yet the case of Melvin Torsen and his crew remains a poignant reminder of the dangers faced by those who make their living on the sea. The official report states the vessel foundered, leaving no survivors and no recovered vessel to provide definitive answers about what went wrong on that day in May. The case was formally entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System on June 10, 2015, ensuring that Melvin Torsen is not forgotten. This event stands as an unresolved maritime tragedy, an incident where a skipper and his crew sailed from Kodiak, Alaska, and were lost to the Shelikof Strait, leaving behind an enduring mystery and the lasting sorrow of their disappearance.
Last Seen: May 27, 1972
