On a November day in 1996, 29-year-old Brian Monty Spencer vanished when the 33-foot fishing vessel Tamra Dawn sank in Clarence Strait, south of Ketchikan, Alaska. The Tamra Dawn was a sea cucumber and urchin dive boat reported to have taken on water near Dall Head, about 20 miles southwest of Ketchikan. Brian Spencer, along with two other men, Lee Spencer, 26, and William Tyler, 39, were all lost to the sea and are presumed to have drowned.

Reports say the conditions in Clarence Strait can be challenging for mariners and that Spencer may have been wearing a dry suit at the time. The Alaska State Troopers handled the case, but accounts note the circumstances of the sinking remain largely unclear and that no comprehensive public investigation report is available.

If anyone was on or near Clarence Strait that day or has information about the Tamra Dawn’s final voyage, please share what is known.