On November 20, 2004, 31-year-old Nicholas Arthur Mayer left Juneau, Alaska, with his childhood friend James Metlicka for a hunting and crabbing trip aboard Metlicka’s 26-foot cabin cruiser Julie K. The boat was later found capsized about 600 yards off Horse Island, roughly 12 miles west of Juneau. Inside the cabin were both men’s dogs, deceased, and several personal flotation devices, a float coat, and an immersion suit, but neither man was aboard.

A U.S. Coast Guard search used a helicopter, boat, night-vision gear, and shore search teams; private searches continued with boats, planes and divers, and a specialized underwater search was mounted in December. No evidence was found that either man reached shore, and the Coast Guard suspended its official search after a few days because survival in the cold water was considered unlikely. Nicholas Mayer is presumed drowned, but his body has not been recovered.