The F/V Pacesetter, a 127-foot Seattle-based crab boat, and her seven-man crew disappeared in the Bering Sea on January 27, 1996. Among those lost was 33-year-old Stanley Eftestad of Norway. The vessel was operating about 65 miles northwest of Saint George Island during the opilio crab season when its emergency position indicating radio beacon automatically activated and prompted a U.S. Coast Guard search.

Search teams found a debris field covering about 361 square miles that included a life raft, a buoy float marked Pacesetter, and the still-transmitting beacon, but no sign of the vessel or any crew. The Coast Guard later concluded that capsizing was likely, pointing to an overloaded deck of crab pots, severe weather, and the free surface effect in a forward hold as probable contributors. Near-freezing air and water temperatures meant survival without exposure suits would be only a few hours.

Does anyone have memories of the Pacesetter or the Dutch Harbor loading that winter, or new information about Stanley Eftestad and the other crew members?