David Warren Poole, 55, was last seen on October 25, 1999, in Hoonah, Alaska, aboard his sailing vessel Bird. He planned to spend about a week in Glacier Bay before sailing to Southern California but failed to make further contact. A friend reported him overdue to Alaska State Troopers on November 5, 1999, triggering an official search.

Air and sea searches covered Glacier Bay and the Inside Passage. Recoveries included several pieces of debris positively identified as belonging to the Bird; their condition suggested the vessel had broken apart and may have sunk. Poole is now presumed to have drowned, though no definitive recovery of his body is described.

Did anyone in the area at the time see a small sailing vessel matching the Bird or notice anything unusual in Glacier Bay that autumn?