Josias Luna Missing Person Case

Mar 17, 2020

May 08, 2024

Josias

Luna

69

48

64 inches

160 lbs

American Indian / Alaska Native

Male

On a cold January day in 2005, 48-year-old Josias Hernandez Luna, a male of American Indian/Alaska Native descent, vanished into the unforgiving waters of the Bering Sea. He was a crew member aboard the F/V Big Valley, a 92-foot crab fishing vessel based in Kodiak, Alaska. The vessel, with six people on board, departed from Dutch Harbor to participate in the opilio crab season. Their journey took a tragic turn on January 15, 2005, when the Big Valley capsized and sank approximately 70 miles west of Saint Paul Island. The last known contact with Luna was on this fateful day, and he has not been seen or heard from since. The sinking of the Big Valley was a sudden and catastrophic event. Around 8:00 a.m., the vessel's emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) activated, signaling distress and prompting a large-scale search and rescue operation. The U.S. Coast Guard, along with several other fishing vessels, responded to the call. Tragically, of the six crew members, only one, Cache Seel, survived. Seel was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter after he managed to get into a life raft. The bodies of two other crewmen, Danny Vermeersch and Carlos Rivera, were recovered from the water. Despite an extensive three-day search, Josias Luna, along with Captain Gary Edwards and fellow crewman Aaron Marrs, were never found. A subsequent investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard revealed a series of safety violations that likely contributed to the vessel's demise. The primary cause of the sinking was determined to be a loss of stability due to severe overloading. The Big Valley was carrying 50 to 55 crab pots, far exceeding its certified limit of 31. This immense weight, coupled with the harsh weather conditions of the Bering Sea, proved to be a fatal combination. The story of the Big Valley and its crew, including the disappearance of Josias Luna, serves as a somber reminder of the inherent dangers faced by those who make their living on the sea and the profound loss experienced by the families they leave behind. The case of Josias Luna remains an open and painful chapter for his loved ones, his body never recovered from the icy depths.

Jan 15, 2005

Kodiak

Alaska

Kodiak Island Borough

No

77446

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

050003785

2005-01-15

Alaska State Troopers

8584

Black

Brown

Brown

07/26/2026