Unmanned vessel’s owner found

 After a six-hour search, U.S. Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay on Oct. 3 found the owner of an unmanned vessel located off the shore of Crescent City. 

The fishing boat Lori had found the small Avon RAB 2.81 inflatable boat unmanned and floating seven miles west of Crescent City Harbor. County authorities informed the Coast Guard, which conducted a search for possible missing passengers.  

“Usually, we try to exhaust all options when we have a search-and-rescue case and we really don't have a lot of info available, said Coast Guard LCDR Gabriel Vigil. “And what actually helped us in this case was when we actually had the vessel, we were able to go through some of the belongings inside the vessel.”  

That search turned up a recently dated receipt from a local pawn shop. From there, officials were able to locate the boat’s owner, who had been unaware the craft was adrift from his property in Klamath.