Richard Boyce, 63, a longtime commercial fisherman from Haines, Alaska, went overboard from his gillnet boat Eleanor S. near Mab Island in the early morning of a July day in 2012. Weather was described as calm, with light winds and moderate tidal current. Boyce was wearing green rain gear and brown XtraTuf boots and was not wearing a personal flotation device.

The boat’s net became entangled in the propeller, and Boyce hurried to the stern, tripped and fell into the water. His daughter and deckhand, Karen Boyce, was the only other person aboard; she disengaged the engine and tried to reach him after hearing him call her name, but he could not be recovered. The Coast Guard received the man-overboard report at 5:10 a.m.; a response boat, a Jayhawk helicopter and nearby fishing vessels searched but Boyce was not found and was presumed drowned.

A U.S. Coast Guard investigation cited contributing factors including lack of safety lines and non-skid deck material, slick hatch covers, and that family said he was not a strong swimmer. The community later established the Richard Boyce Inflatable Suspender Memorial Fund to provide inflatable suspenders to the fleet. Does anyone who fished in that area at the time have additional details about safety practices or that morning?