Chris Mclain Missing Person Case

Jan 01, 1970

Jan 01, 1970

Chris

Mclain

34

White / Caucasian

Male

In the late summer of 1985, a 34-year-old man named Chris Parley Mclain was working aboard a commercial fishing vessel in the waters off of Kodiak, Alaska. On August 15th, he and the rest of the crew of the F/V Western Sea were in Marmot Bay, an area between Kodiak and Afognak Islands. This would be the last time anyone had contact with Mclain or the vessel. The rugged and often unforgiving nature of the Alaskan seas is a well-known peril for those who make their living on the water, and on this day, the Western Sea and its crew would tragically become another statistic in the long history of maritime losses in the region. The exact circumstances of what happened to the vessel remain unclear, but it is presumed to have sunk, taking all hands with it. The disappearance of the F/V Western Sea prompted a search, but it was the recovery of a crew member's body that confirmed the grim reality of the situation. On August 20, 1985, the body of Peter Barry, a 20-year-old Yale student working on the boat for the summer, was discovered by another fishing vessel in Marmot Bay. He was wearing a life jacket, but not a survival suit. An extensive search by the Coast Guard ultimately located the bodies of two other crewmen: 58-year-old skipper Jerald Bouchard and 25-year-old Stewart Darling. However, Chris Mclain, along with fellow crew members Chris Hofer, 27, and Bill Posey, 24, were never found. Debris from the 58-foot wooden seine boat, which was built in 1915, was later found east of Long Island, but the vessel itself has never been located. The loss of the Western Sea and its crew highlighted the dangerous nature of the commercial fishing industry and contributed to a growing movement for improved safety regulations. Investigations following the incident revealed that the 70-year-old vessel was reportedly not equipped with a life raft, survival suits, an Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB), or an emergency pump. The tragedy, along with other fishing vessel sinkings, galvanized the families of the victims and safety advocates to push for legislative change. This advocacy was instrumental in the passage of the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act of 1988, the first federal legislation in the United States to specifically address safety standards on commercial fishing vessels. The case of Chris Mclain and the crew of the Western Sea serves as a somber reminder of the risks faced by fishermen and the profound impact their loss has on their families and the maritime community. Despite the passage of time, the exact cause of the sinking remains undetermined, and the final moments of Chris Mclain and the other two unrecovered crewmen are left to the silence of the sea.

Aug 15, 1985

Kodiak

Alaska

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07/24/2026