A Washington woman who was thrown overboard off a drifting boat has died after the Coast Guard responded to her mayday call and found her floating in the choppy, freezing waters.
The US Coast Guard rescued two boaters, one of whom was her husband, from a disabled boat near the San Juan Islands after it began drifting toward land on Monday around 7 pm.
The boat ran aground while the crew attempted to rescue the sailors, causing the mast of the ship to collapse.
‘The vessel… ran aground on Ewing Island [and] began taking on water and sinking. A male and female went into the water,’ The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office said.
‘The male was rescued and taken aboard the Coast Guard small boat. The female was found floating face down in the water and unresponsive.’
A 56-year-old man was hoisted onto the rescue boat before the woman was located unconscious in the water.
She was flown by helicopter to St Joseph Medical Center in Bellingham before she was declared deceased. The man was also taken by EMS to St Joseph Medical Center, his condition is unclear.
Sergeant Bryce Peterson spoke with the man onboard who revealed both sailors were Canadian citizens and were on board their 31-foot sailboat near the north end of Lummi Island.
The US Coast Guard rescued two boaters from a disabled boat near the San Juan Islands after it began drifting toward land on Monday at around 7 pm
!['The vessel... ran aground on Ewing Island [and] began taking on water and sinking. A male and female went into the water,' The San Juan County Sheriff's Office said](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2025/02/06/16/94933629-14368617-_The_vessel_ran_aground_on_Ewing_Island_and_began_taking_on_wate-a-2_1738860793264.jpg)
‘The vessel… ran aground on Ewing Island [and] began taking on water and sinking. A male and female went into the water,’ The San Juan County Sheriff’s Office said
Snowy conditions and 25 to 30 mph winds with four to six-foot seas were reported as the on-scene weather, according to the Coast Guard. Footage from the rescue mission showed the rough seas and incredible wind conditions, causing the small boat to viciously rock with the strong waves
According to the sheriff’s office, the pair had ‘underestimated the sea conditions.’
‘Their small auxiliary motor could not overcome [wind and wave forces], and the boat would not answer the helm. They were left to the mercy of the storm,’ the sheriff’s office said, further stating that the boats anemometer – the instrument that measures wind speed and pressure – showed gusts of 35 knots.
‘This is a very sad incident and the sincerest of condolences from the SJCSO go out to the victims and their families,’ they added.
The crew battled snowy conditions and 25 to 30 mph winds with four to six-foot seas, according to the Coast Guard.
Footage from the rescue mission showed the rough seas causing the small boat to viciously rock against the strong waves.
During the rescue, the small boat from the Coast Guard lost an engine and one team member was injured and transported to hospital before being released later that night.
It comes after an eight-year-old boy and a 39-year-old man died after a rescue attempt off the coast of Cowell Ranch State Beach down the West Coast in California.
On January 19 at around 3pm, emergency services responded to the drowning victims, and were found unconscious by a Piller Point Sheriff vessel.
An eight-year-old boy and a 39-year-old man died after a rescue attempt off the coast of Cowell Ranch State Beach in California
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Chip Pickard told local Fox affiliate, KTVU News, that the child got swept up in the harsh currents and the adult went in after him
The boy was then airlifted to a nearby hospital while the man was taken by ambulance. They were pronounced dead at the hospital.
Jorge Moreno, a spokesperson for California State Parks, said in a statement to the press that the two received ‘life-saving efforts.’
‘We extend our deepest sympathy to the family for this devastating loss,’ Moreno added.
Cal Fire Battalion Chief Chip Pickard told local Fox affiliate, KTVU News, that the child got swept up in the harsh currents and the adult went in after him.
‘It was a coordinated effort to rescue them,’ Pickard added.
Due to the hazardous currents, a sneaker wave warning was put in place until 7 pm on the following Monday, January 20.
Sneaker waves surge inland and are made up of multiple smaller waves. There’s a delayed reaction so beachgoers may not feel the impacts of the waves for at least 10 minutes.
