July 6, 2021 — A commercial fisherman has died after a vessel sank in the south end of Nushagak Bay on Thursday morning with three people on board.
Authorities on Friday identified the deceased as Lance Eric Norby, 45, of Arlington, Texas. He captained the F/V Pneuma. Norby’s next of kin has been notified.
Alaska State Troopers report receiving a call around 5 a.m. Thursday morning that a commercial vessel was taking on water. Two wildlife troopers responded immediately. Before they got there, they heard reports that the three people on board were in the water.
Authorities credit Good Samaritans on the scene with helping in the rescue. Among those was skipper Caleb Mikkelsen, who said his crew was getting ready for an opener when he got a call from a friend that there was a vessel in distress on the VHF radio.
“We could hear that there were two boats and a skiff trying to help this vessel that was sinking out on those Snake River flats there,” he said.
The people at the scene said they still needed help. So Mikkelsen piloted his boat, the F/V Fortress, about seven miles to help.