Account
Mar 12, 2012
Jan 05, 2024
Jason
Bjaranson
51
38
70 inches
160 lbs
White / Caucasian
Male
On March 10, 2012, 38-year-old Jason E. Bjaranson, a deckhand on the fishing vessel 'The Lady Cecelia', was reported missing from Warrenton, Oregon. The vessel, with its four-person crew, disappeared into the turbulent waters of the Pacific Ocean, approximately 17 to 30 miles off the coast of southern Washington. The boat, which had been crabbing, was heading back to its home port in Warrenton, Oregon, when it vanished without a single distress call or mayday signal being sent. The crewmen aboard with Bjaranson were the skipper, Dave Anderson, and fellow deckhands Chris Lelan and Josh Vick. The unexpected and silent nature of the vessel's disappearance left family members and authorities with a profound sense of uncertainty and a deep need for answers. The last communication from the boat was a routine check-in the night before, giving no indication of the tragedy that was about to unfold. The only alert that the 'The Lady Cecelia' was in peril came from its Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB). This device, designed to activate upon contact with water, sent a signal to the Coast Guard station in Warrenton at 3:37 a.m. Within two hours, a Coast Guard helicopter was dispatched and located an oil slick, a debris field, and the vessel's life raft in the frigid waters. Despite the rapid response, there were no signs of the four crew members. The discovery of the debris confirmed the grim reality that the 75-foot vessel had sunk. The life raft was found still inflated but empty, a haunting indication of the crew's fate. The boat was later found by a sonar scan resting on the ocean floor at a depth of about 450 feet. In the wake of the EPIRB signal, the United States Coast Guard launched an extensive search and rescue operation, covering an area of over 640 square miles. For two days, multiple helicopter crews, cutters, and patrol boats scoured the ocean surface, battling challenging weather conditions in a desperate search for survivors. They searched an area stretching from Tillamook Head, Oregon, to Long Beach, Washington. Despite their exhaustive efforts, the search yielded no trace of Jason Bjaranson or his fellow crewmen. The active search was eventually suspended, a difficult decision that left the families of the missing men in anguish. The case serves as a somber overview of the inherent dangers of commercial fishing. The sudden loss of the 'The Lady Cecelia' and its crew, without a distress call or any survivors, highlights how quickly conditions can turn tragic at sea, leaving behind unanswered questions and an enduring sense of loss for the families and the coastal community.
Mar 10, 2012
Warrenton
Oregon
Clatsop County
No
21942
U S Coast Guard
Portland
Oregon
,
MISOE#4261013
U S Coast Guard
Brown
Brown
Brown
05/29/2026
