Bryon Koesterman Missing Person Case

Mar 17, 2020

Jun 27, 2024

Bryon

Koesterman

49

19

72 inches

170 lbs

Uncertain

Male

In the unforgiving waters of the Bering Sea, 19-year-old Bryon David Koesterman of Dillingham, Alaska, embarked on what would be his final voyage. On January 27, 1996, he was one of seven crew members aboard the F/V Pacesetter, a 127-foot steel-hulled crab fishing vessel. That night, during a violent storm, the vessel capsized and sank approximately 60 to 65 miles from St. George Island. The conditions were so severe that the crew had no time to send a mayday call. The only alert to their distress was an automatic signal from the ship's Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), which activated as the vessel went down. Bryon, a young man who had grown up in Spokane and moved to Seattle, was proud of his demanding job on the crab boat, a testament to his strength and courage. He was joined by Captain Matthew Pope, Stephen Mack, Richard Anderson, Michael Kirk Ericson, Elias Pena, and Stanley Eftestad. The United States Coast Guard, alerted by the EPIRB signal, initiated a search and rescue operation in a 361-square-mile area of the Bering Sea. Eleven private fishing boats joined the effort, battling the tumultuous seas in the hope of finding survivors. The searchers located the Pacesetter's beacon, two empty life rafts—one of which was partially submerged and not inflated—and a buoy float bearing the boat's name. Despite their exhaustive two-day search, no sign of Bryon or any of his fellow crew members was ever found. The icy waters, reaching depths of 2,400 feet where the boat sank, held no trace of the seven men. The search was eventually called off, leaving their families with unanswered questions and profound grief. A subsequent investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard concluded that the probable cause of the sinking was a combination of factors. The vessel was believed to be overloaded with crab pots, which, combined with the "free surface effect" in the forward hold and the severe weather, likely led to the vessel heeling, rolling over, and sinking. Reports from the crew of a partner boat who witnessed the Pacesetter rolling heavily from side to side, so much so that the rolling chalks on the boat's bottom were visible, supported this conclusion. The loss of the Pacesetter and its entire crew was a devastating blow to the Alaskan fishing community and was noted as the worst sinking in the 1996 snow crab fishery. The case remains a tragic reminder of the inherent dangers faced by those who make their living on the treacherous waters of the Bering Sea. The disappearance of Bryon Koesterman and his six crewmates stands as a somber moment in Alaska's maritime history.

Jan 27, 1996

Dillingham

Alaska

Dillingham Census Area

No

77501

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

960006280

1996-01-28

Alaska State Troopers

8814

Brown

Brown

Brown

07/24/2026