Kevin Lee Melnick was 27 when the 97-foot crab fishing vessel Vestfjord sank on January 29, 1989. The Vestfjord was en route from Seattle to Dutch Harbor and went down about 30 miles south of the Trinity Islands, just west of Kodiak Island, after encountering a severe storm with winds up to 60 knots and seas as high as 30 feet. The crew reported severe icing and made a distress call before the vessel foundered.

Six people were aboard. Two crew members’ bodies were recovered; Kevin Melnick is listed among four who remained missing after the sinking, along with Richard Legary, Richard Kristovich, and Daniel McDonald. The search was extensive but hampered by the weather, and the families have continued to live with the uncertainty left by the loss.