Rodney Howarth Missing Person Case

Jan 01, 1970

Jan 01, 1970

Rodney

Howarth

39

Male

On August 10, 1986, 39-year-old Rodney Patkutag Howarth, a male of American Indian or Alaska Native descent, disappeared while on a sea journey in Alaska. He and a companion, Don Hammond, were navigating a 56-foot converted landing craft named the "Seagull II" from Kotzebue to Deering. The vessel was laden with a portable drill rig and pilings. Their voyage was intended to be a routine delivery, but neither the men nor their craft ever reached their destination, vanishing somewhere in the waters between the two coastal communities. Rodney was described as being 5'9" and weighing approximately 180 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. At the time of his disappearance, he was believed to be wearing gray coveralls, a summer jacket, a dark blue baseball hat, and brown leather shoes. The "Seagull II" was a notable vessel, a freight barge built in 1945 that had been converted from a diesel-powered landing craft. Despite the presumed sturdiness of the craft, it seems to have met with a fate that left no survivors and no clear indication of what transpired. The disappearance of Rodney Howarth and Don Hammond is a somber tale of the perils of the sea and the enduring mystery of the lost. An official report of their disappearance was filed with the Alaska State Troopers on August 11, 1986, the day after they were last seen. Despite any searches that would have been conducted in the vast and often treacherous Alaskan waters, no trace of the "Seagull II," its cargo, or the two men aboard has ever been found. The case remains a painful open wound for the families, a story without an ending, leaving them to wonder about the final moments of their loved ones. The complete absence of wreckage or any form of communication leaves the circumstances of their disappearance entirely to speculation, a maritime mystery that has endured for decades.

Aug 10, 1986

Kotzebue

Alaska

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07/22/2026