Stanley Eftestad Missing Person Case

Mar 17, 2020

Feb 13, 2024

Stanley

Eftestad

63

33

71 inches

159 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

In the unforgiving waters of the Bering Sea, the story of Stanley Eftestad and the crew of the F/V Pacesetter came to an abrupt and tragic end on January 27, 1996. Eftestad, a 33-year-old man from Norway, was one of seven crew members aboard the 127-foot crab fishing vessel when it vanished. The Seattle-based boat was last known to be operating approximately 65 miles northwest of Saint George Island, in the midst of the notoriously dangerous opilio crab fishing season. Also lost to the sea that day were Captain Matthew Pope, Stephen Mack, Richard Anderson, Michael Kirk Ericson, Byron Koesterman, and Elias Pena. The disappearance of the Pacesetter prompted an immediate and extensive search effort by the U.S. Coast Guard after an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) from the vessel automatically activated, signaling distress. Search crews scouring the 361-square-mile area discovered a debris field that included a life raft, a buoy float bearing the Pacesetter's name, and the still-transmitting emergency beacon. Despite these findings, there was no sign of the vessel itself or any of its seven crew members. The frigid air and water temperatures of the Bering Sea in late January offered a grim outlook, with survival time in the near-freezing water estimated to be only a few hours without proper exposure suits. A subsequent U.S. Coast Guard investigation concluded that a combination of factors likely led to the vessel's capsizing. The investigation cited the probability of the "free surface effect" in the forward hold, a dangerous condition where shifting water can compromise stability, combined with an overload of crab pots and severe weather conditions. It was reported that after loading the vessel to its supposed maximum capacity in Dutch Harbor, the captain took on an estimated 22 additional bait pots. Witnesses from other vessels reported seeing the Pacesetter rolling heavily, to the point where the rolling chalks on the bottom of the boat were visible. The loss of the Pacesetter and its entire crew stands as one of the worst tragedies in the history of the Alaskan snow crab fishery, a stark reminder of the immense perils faced by those who make their living on the turbulent waters of the Bering Sea.

Jan 27, 1996

Dillingham

Alaska

Dillingham Census Area

No

77842

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

960006280

1996-01-29

Alaska State Troopers

Brown

Hazel

Hazel

07/16/2026