Michael Kirk Ericson was 32 when he vanished from the F/V Pacesetter during a January 1996 Bering Sea storm. The 127-foot crab boat’s last known communication was on January 26, 1996; on January 27 its emergency beacon activated and a distress signal was located about 60 to 65 nautical miles south of St. George Island. Ericson and six crewmates—Captain Matthew Pope, Stephen Mack, Richard Anderson, Byron Koesterman, Elias Pena, and Stanley Eftestad—disappeared and are presumed lost at sea.

The Coast Guard mounted a search of roughly 361 square miles. Debris recovered by a nearby fishing vessel included an empty life raft, a buoy float marked Pacesetter, and a second empty life raft found hours later, but no sign of the vessel or crew. A Coast Guard investigation later concluded the Pacesetter was likely overloaded with crab pots and capsized while navigating severe weather; other crews reported the boat rolling heavily.