Bryson Michael Fitch, 24, disappeared February 5, 2023, after the 46-foot crab boat Ethel May capsized in Willapa Bay near Bay Center, Washington. Two crew members were rescued from a life raft by a Coast Guard helicopter and taken to a local hospital for evaluation; Fitch was not accounted for after the vessel sank. Searchers covered about 290 square miles over more than 15 hours using 18 different search patterns before the official search was suspended the evening after the incident.

Debris from the Ethel May was recovered in Willapa Bay and nearby Pacific waters, and the vessel’s pilothouse later washed ashore, indicating the boat broke apart. Family, friends, and the local community continued private shoreline searches and at-sea looking, and a GoFundMe was set up to support Fitch’s wife and three young children, for whom he was the sole provider.

Does anyone who was in the Bay Center area on or after February 5, 2023, or who knows more about the Ethel May and that day’s weather and conditions, have information to share?