On March 22, 1990, 22-year-old Matthew Jay Schneider was working aboard the 162-foot fishing trawler Aleutian Enterprise about 60 miles south of Saint Paul Island in the Bering Sea when the vessel capsized and sank during a net-hauling operation. A large cod end snapped and spilled a massive catch onto the deck, causing the ship to list severely. Pre-existing stability problems and poorly maintained watertight closures on the processing deck allowed rapid flooding; the vessel capsized within minutes.

Multiple nearby ships rescued 22 crew members from the water and life rafts, but Matthew and eight others could not be located. The Coast Guard suspended the official search after determining there was no longer a reasonable expectation of survival in the Bering Sea. The National Transportation Safety Board attributed probable cause to inadequate crew training, operating procedures, and safety oversight by Arctic Alaska Fisheries Corporation; the Coast Guard also faulted the captain for not issuing a timely abandon-ship order and noted the general alarm bell was not functional.

Anyone with memories of the Aleutian Enterprise or the crews involved who can add detail about that night or about Matthew’s life is asked to come forward.