Mar 17, 2020
May 31, 2024
Michael
Ericson
62
32
73 inches
195 lbs
White / Caucasian
Male
On January 27, 1996, a then 32-year-old Michael Kirk Ericson was working aboard the F/V Pacesetter, a 127-foot steel-hulled crab fishing vessel. The boat and its seven-person crew were in the Bering Sea when they encountered a violent storm. The last known communication from the vessel was on January 26, 1996. The following day, the ship's Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) automatically activated, sending a distress signal. This signal was pinpointed to a location approximately 60 to 65 nautical miles south of St. George Island. Michael Ericson, along with the six other crew members, disappeared and are presumed to have been lost at sea. The United States Coast Guard initiated a search and rescue operation covering a 361-square-mile area of the Bering Sea. A nearby fishing vessel was the first to discover debris, which included an empty life raft and a buoy float bearing the Pacesetter's name. A second empty life raft was found a couple of hours later. Tragically, there was no sign of the vessel or any of its crew. The official search was called off after two days. The crew members who were lost alongside Michael Ericson were identified as Captain Matthew Pope, Stephen Mack, Richard Anderson, Byron Koesterman, Elias Pena, and Stanley Eftestad. A subsequent investigation by the U.S. Coast Guard concluded that the vessel was likely overloaded with crab pots and was navigating through adverse weather conditions when it capsized and sank. Testimony from crews on other boats in the vicinity reported seeing the Pacesetter rolling heavily from side to side. The incident was noted as the worst sinking in the Alaskan snow crab fishery of 1996. The case remains a heartbreaking example of the dangers faced by those who work in the commercial fishing industry in the treacherous waters of the Bering Sea. The disappearance of Michael Ericson and his fellow crewmen serves as a somber reminder of the power of the ocean and the risks undertaken by fishermen.
Jan 27, 1996
Dillingham
Alaska
Dillingham Census Area
No
77705
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
8815
Red/Auburn
Blue
Blue
07/27/2026
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