On February 14, 1985, the 83-foot fishing vessel F/V Alert went missing in the Shelikof Strait while making passage between Uganik Bay and Alitak Bay. Ray Basel, 42, was one of five crewmen aboard; the others were Shawn Heaney, 24; Melvin Wick, 41; Paul Rowe, 18; and Sveinn Adalsteinsson. The vessel was last heard from while fighting heavy sea ice and steering for the relative shelter of Bumble Bay as wind and wave height rapidly increased and temperatures dropped.

An extensive search and rescue operation followed, but no debris or wreckage was ever located and none of the five men were seen again. The Alaska State Troopers investigated, but with no physical evidence the disappearance remains unresolved and the families have received no closure.