Dan Bentzen was 34 when he and James Patrick McElhenie set out from Bedwell Harbour, British Columbia, in June 1997 aboard a 23-foot Formula Runabout bound for Johns Island in the San Juan Islands. The last known contact with Bentzen was in Friday Harbor, Washington; after they left that point neither the men nor the boat have been found.

The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office opened an investigation, and searches of the islands and surrounding channels were carried out, but no wreckage, personal effects, or other definitive clues turned up. With no distress call or physical evidence recovered, investigators were left without a clear timeline or explanation for what happened on that trip.

The case has remained open but unsolved, and the disappearance is recorded as unresolved. If anyone had contact with Dan or James around June 1997, or saw the runabout in the San Juan area, please share what is known.