John Peter Cheplak was 31 when he vanished from the F/V Addington in late May 1972. On May 27, 1972, the 40-ton, 54-foot wooden oil screw fishing vessel foundered in the Shelikof Strait near Cape Uganik on the west side of Kodiak Island. Cheplak and two crewmates — skipper Melvin Torsen (also reported as Melvin William Torsen, age 23) of Kodiak and Leonard Niemi of Anchorage — went missing as the vessel sank. The disappearance was reported to the Alaska State Troopers on May 31, 1972.

No remains or wreckage of the F/V Addington have been reported found, and the circumstances of the sinking in the often-treacherous Shelikof Strait remain unclear. The Alaska State Troopers list Cheplak as an active missing person. If anyone had contact with the Addington, its crew, or was in the area around Cape Uganik in May 1972, can you share what you know?