On a November morning in 2014, 49-year-old Dean Allen Harvey, a crab fisherman, ventured out from Anacortes, Washington, into the waters of the San Juan Islands. He and his brother, Robert Romero, departed around 8:30 a.m. in separate 18-foot fishing boats, with a plan to check their crab pots and reconvene later that afternoon. Harvey, a member of the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe, was last seen in Friday Harbor, Washington, wearing yellow bib overalls, a black hooded sweatshirt, a green
raincoat, a dark beanie, and black neoprene boots. He was not wearing a personal flotation device when he set out that day. The brothers had agreed to meet back in Anacortes at 3:30 p.m., but Harvey never arrived.
After waiting for an hour, Romero grew concerned and at 4:30 p.m., he contacted Skagit County 911 to report his brother overdue. The seas were reportedly stormy that afternoon, adding to the urgency of the situation. A search was promptly initiated, but challenging weather conditions, including heavy rain and poor visibility, hampered the initial efforts on Tuesday evening. The search intensified the following day, involving multiple agencies including the U.S. Coast Guard, the San Juan County Sheriff's Office, and Naval Air Station Whidbey Island. At approximately 9 a.m. on Wednesday, a Coast Guard helicopter crew spotted Harvey's 18-foot boat. It was found overturned and grounded on rocks near the southeast corner of Lopez Island, but there was no sign of Harvey.
The extensive search for Dean Harvey covered 909 square miles over a 24-hour period. Despite the thorough efforts of the search crews, no trace of the missing fisherman was found. The official search was suspended late Wednesday afternoon, pending any new developments. In the days that followed, Harvey's family, friends, and members of the Port Gamble S'Klallam Tribe continued their own search, driven by the hope of finding answers and bringing him home. They distributed flyers, searched shorelines, and spoke with other fishermen, holding onto the possibility that he might be injured or disoriented. The case remains a painful mystery for his loved ones and community; Dean Harvey is presumed to have been lost to the sea, a tragic end to a day that began with the simple routine of a fisherman checking his pots.Last Seen: Nov 25, 2014
