Richard Charles Bartee, 24, was working aboard the fishing vessel Discovery in the Bering Sea off Kodiak, Alaska, when a boating accident on March 31, 1981, swept him overboard. He was wearing an orange rain jacket, green rain pants, and Goodyear type rubber boots when he was lost to the waves. Bartee, also known as Dick Bartee, was a white male with brown hair and brown eyes, about five feet five inches tall and roughly 130 pounds.

Search and rescue efforts were unable to locate him in the turbulent waters; the Alaska State Troopers in Kodiak documented the incident and he is presumed deceased due to the circumstances. The case is a reminder of the hazards faced by those working in Alaskan seas and the swift danger a sudden accident can create.

If anyone worked on the Discovery or remembers that voyage, does any detail about the accident or the vessel’s operations that day help explain what happened?