On the evening of November 29, 1997, 40-year-old Ronald James Tarabochia was aboard the crab boat Jolly Roger when the vessel collapsed and sank off the coast of Westport, Washington. The sinking happened about 7:30 p.m. and prompted a rescue effort. Ronald’s wife of three years, Marilyn Forsyth Tarabochia, and her son, who was crewing on the boat, were pulled from the water; Marilyn was pronounced dead at the hospital and her son survived treatment for hypothermia.

Ronald, a member of the Chinook Tribe with brown hair and blue eyes, vanished after the sinking and was never recovered. The official investigation presumed he drowned when the vessel went down, but without a body there is no definitive account of his final moments. The case remains classified as a lost/injured missing person and stands as a reminder of the dangers faced by commercial fishermen.

If anyone knew Ronald, worked with him, or has information about that night, please share what is known.