Daniel Soileau Missing Person Case

Mar 17, 2020

Mar 12, 2024

Daniel

Soileau

56

24

74 inches

165 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

In the late summer of 1993, a 24-year-old man named Daniel Arthur Soileau was in Dillingham, Alaska, preparing for a journey at sea. On September 14, 1993, he, along with four others, boarded the crab fishing vessel Nettie H, leaving the port of King Cove with a destination of Saint Paul Island. Daniel, a male from Conyers, Georgia, and a Navy veteran, was tragically never seen or heard from again after his vessel was reported lost at sea. The disappearance occurred in the treacherous waters of the Bering Sea, approximately 10 miles north of Otter Point on Unimak Island, leaving behind a wake of unanswered questions and a family grappling with an immense loss. One particularly haunting detail shared by a family member was that Daniel had once predicted he would one day go missing at sea. The Nettie H, a 58-foot crab fishing vessel, was carrying a crew of five on what was supposed to be a routine trip. Onboard with Daniel were his two older brothers, 35-year-old Peter Soileau, who was the captain, and 29-year-old David Soileau. Also accompanying them were 35-year-old Blake Grinstein from Bellingham, Washington, and 23-year-old Julie Mereness of Colorado. The group ventured into the Bering Sea, a region known for its unforgiving weather and challenging maritime conditions. The vessel and its experienced crew, however, never arrived at Saint Paul Island as planned. Communication was lost, and with no distress signal reported, the Nettie H seemingly vanished without a trace. In the months that followed the vessel's disappearance, the hope of finding the crew alive began to fade. A significant breakthrough in the case, though somber, came on May 5, 1994, when a life raft from the Nettie H was discovered. The raft, found by another fishing vessel near Cape Constantine in the Bristol Bay area, carried the remains of Julie Mereness. This discovery confirmed the tragic fate of at least one of the crew members but offered no further clues as to what happened to the Nettie H or the four men, including Daniel Soileau and his brothers. No further wreckage or remains of the other crew members have ever been located. The case, handled by the Alaska State Troopers, remains an unsolved and painful mystery, representing one of the many tragedies where the sea has claimed the lives of those who make their living on its waters.

Sep 14, 1993

Dillingham

Alaska

Dillingham Census Area

No

77963

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

930061163

1993-09-19

Alaska State Troopers

Unknown

Unknown

Unknown

07/18/2026