Tag Archives: Wrangell
5 family members and a commercial fisherman neighbor are ID’d as dead or missing in Alaska landslide
Authorities on Friday identified those missing or killed in a southeast Alaska landslide this week as five family members and their neighbor, a commercial fisherman who made a longshot bid for the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House last year. Timothy Heller, 44, and Beth Heller, 36 — plus their children Mara, 16; Derek, 12; and Kara, 11 — were at home Monday night when the landslide struck near the island community of Wrangell. Search crews found the bodies of the parents and the oldest child late Monday or early Tuesday; the younger children remain missing, as does neighbor Otto Florschutz, 65, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in an emailed statement. >>click to read<< 07:32
3 dead and 3 missing after landslide rips through remote Alaska fishing community
The slide, estimated to be 450 feet (137 meters) wide, occurred at about 9 p.m. Monday during a significant rain and windstorm near Wrangell, an island community of 2,000 people some 155 miles (250 kilometers) south of the state capital of Juneau. Rescue crews found the body of a girl in an initial search and late Tuesday the bodies of two adults were found by a drone operator. Searchers used a cadaver-sniffing dog and heat-sensing drones to search for two children and one adult unaccounted for after the disaster, while the Coast Guard and other vessels looked along a waterfront littered with rocks, trees and mud. >>click to read<< 08:53
Fisherman John Paul Feller Jr. has passed away
John Paul Feller Jr. passed into the “happy hunting grounds” on Aug. 10 in Wrangell after a hard battle with cancer, his family wrote. “He will be greatly missed.” A celebration of life will be held at a later time. John was born on Dec. 29, 1948, to John Paul Feller Sr. and Carol Alice (James) Feller Brady in Wrangell. The oldest of five children, John was someone who everyone looked up to and was a friend to all, his family wrote. John started fishing with his dad at a young age and his love of fishing continued throughout his life. He went on to be a master net maker, seasoned commercial fisherman, and earned his associate degree in environmental sciences. He was a well-known skiff man in Southeast. >click to read< 11:55
New memorial scholarship honors Wrangell commercial fishing siblings Sig and Helen Decker
21-year-old Sig Decker and 19-year-old Helen Decker grew up commercial fishing with their parents on the family boat. “That was a really fun time as a family. It’s sort of the most genuine family time you can get is all being in a little tiny boat in the middle of nowhere and working together,” says Julie Decker, Sig and Helen’s mom. “At a certain point, I think they wanted more. So then they started crewing on seine boats and were on a couple 
different boats, and then eventually were in the same boat, the summer of 2020.” On July 27, 2020, Sig and Helen and two other crewmates, 29-year-old Ian Martin of Petersburg and 37-year-old Dennis Lord of Elmira Heights, New York, were killed in a car crash on Mitkof Island south of Petersburg while on a break from commercial fishing. >click to read< 15:14
Wrangell fisherman dies at sea near Nemo Point
A veteran fisherman from Wrangell has been found dead aboard his fishing boat 12 miles south of town. Authorities ID’d the deceased as 53-year-old Randall Ferdinand, a professional salmon troller. His body was recovered aboard his boat, the Chase River, which had run aground. Wrangell Search and Rescue chief Tim Buness says 12 members of his crew responded Sunday to a report of a vessel in apparent distress. “A local trapper was going by and observed it, that a boat was partially submerged >click to read< 18:36
Wrangell reflects on the sea, loss with proposed Mariners’ Memorial
A group of mostly fishermen is fundraising to build a mariners’ memorial in Wrangell. Organizers say it’s a way to remember those lost at sea. Gig Decker has been a commercial fisherman and diver for decades. “Every single year, for 33 years of commercial diving, I got the hell scared out of me and I came close to drowning,” Decker says. Decker and others are fundraising to build a $300,000 memorial at Heritage Harbor in Wrangell. So far, they have 200 members offering local support. Board members are soliciting larger corporate and foundation donations as well. >click to read< 21:06
