On a cold January day in 1996, 39-year-old Stephen Joseph Mack of Dillingham, Alaska, was aboard the 127-foot steel-hulled crab boat Pacesetter when the vessel sank about 65 nautical miles south of St. George Island in the Bering Sea. Stephen and six crewmates — Captain Matthew Pope, Richard Anderson, Michael Ericson, Byron Koesterman, Elias Pena, and Stanley Eftestad — disappeared into the frigid water.

An emergency position-indicating radiobeacon signal was received on January 27, 1996, and search and rescue teams found a debris field that included two empty life rafts, a buoy float with the ship’s name, and the still-transmitting EPIRB. Despite an extensive 361-square-mile search, no sign of the seven men was ever found and the search was called off after two days.

A U.S. Coast Guard investigation did not determine a single cause but identified likely contributing factors: free surface effect in the forward hold, an overload of crab pots, and severe weather. Crews nearby reported the Pacesetter was heavily loaded and rolling violently before it disappeared.

Did anyone who sailed in that area at the time notice the Pacesetter or have information about its final hours?