On August 13, 1997, 46-year-old Leslie Carstensen of Dillingham, Alaska, was working as a crew member aboard the 82-foot steel tugboat Gail S in Bristol Bay when the vessel began taking on water and sank. The crew reported the tug was sinking fast and the seas were about eight feet high. Four crewmembers were rescued; Carstensen entered the water wearing an Imperial survival suit that was reported not fully zipped, a condition that would have reduced its protective and buoyant function.

A surviving crewmember later saw Carstensen floating in the water but was unable to secure him because of the sea conditions. Extensive searches of the area failed to recover his body. The Alaska State Troopers investigated the disappearance, which left family and crewmates without closure.

Did anyone who worked on Bristol Bay tugs in 1997 have memories or information about the Gail S that could help fill gaps in what happened that day?