Christopher Hofer, 27, was a Fort Collins, Colorado, deckhand aboard the 58-foot seine boat F/V Western Sea in the summer of 1985. He was last seen on August 15, 1985, as the vessel departed Kodiak, Alaska, bound for the waters of Marmot Bay between Kodiak and Afognak Islands. He was described as 6 feet tall, about 155 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes.

Concerns were raised on August 20 when the Western Sea failed to check in. The body of 20-year-old crew member Peter Barry was found floating in Marmot Bay; two more crew members, skipper Jerald Bouchard, 58, and deckhand Stewart Darling, 25, were later recovered. Wreckage from the Western Sea was located east of Long Island, and two crew — Christopher Hofer and 24-year-old deckhand Bill Posey of Anchorage — were never found. The investigation noted the 70-year-old vessel lacked key safety equipment and a crewman had quit before the final trip over safety worries. The official cause of the sinking was never determined and Christopher is presumed to have died.

Did anyone in Kodiak or the Alaska fishing community have contact with Christopher or the Western Sea crew in the days before August 15, 1985?