Bodies of captain and crew member from lost fishing boat found near Hoonah

Update, Monday, Dec. 16: Alaska State Troopers have identified the two bodies found in debris from the fishing vessel Wind Walker as Travis Marley Kapp, 45, and Jacob Daniel Hannah, 22, both of Sitka. Kapp was owner and captain of the boat, which went under in rough weather near Hoonah on Dec. 1. Three other men aboard have not been found.

Original story:

Two bodies were recovered Monday on a beach near Hoonah, along with debris from a commercial fishing boat that sank in rough weather the morning of Dec. 1 with five men aboard, Alaska State Troopers said.

The remains were found along Spasski Bay, about four miles east of Hoonah, among debris from the Wind Walker, troopers said. No additional remains were located in a search of about five miles of shore nearby, they said.

A beachcomber found the bodies and other items and contacted troopers, according to spokesman Austin McDaniel. He described the debris along the beach as survival suits and long-line fishing gear such as buoys and line markers. Some of the debris included markings from the Wind Walker.

The men whose bodies were found were not wearing survival suits, McDaniel said.

The Sitka-based fishing boat was headed to North Pacific fishing grounds when it capsized about 25 miles southwest of Juneau after the crew issued a mayday call they were going over. Searchers, including a state ferry, found a number of uninflated cold-water immersion suits but no survivors.

The National Weather Service had forecast gale-force winds in the area as well as freezing spray and snow.

Authorities identified the five missing men as Travis Kapp, Michael Brown, Emilio Celaya-Talamantez, Jacob Hannah and Alex Ireland, who also used the name Alex Zamantakis.

A Juneau-based Alaska National Guard helicopter transported Alaska Wildlife Troopers, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration law enforcement officers and a SEADOGS K9 search team to the area, troopers said.

The bodies, which have not been identified, were flown to Juneau to be transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Anchorage for autopsy, troopers said.