Where is the captain of this fishing boat?

At some point along his journey, Joel Kawahara went missing

- BY SALVADOR HERNANDEZ

STEVEN STROHMAIER U.S. Coast Guard Northwest District THE KAROLEE'S 70-year-old skipper was nowhere to be found when the Coast Guard boarded the vessel.

Joel Kawahara’s fishing boat, the Karolee, traveled down the coast from Washington toward California waters, keeping a steady course that offered no hint that something had gone terribly wrong.

But when Coast Guard crews boarded the boat this month in Northern California, officials found no one on board. Its captain was nowhere to be seen. Somewhere along the roughly 400-mile journey, the 70-year-old Kawahara was lost.

“It’s a strange case,” said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer StevenStrohmaier. “There were no signs of distress, no signs of debris.”

On the Karolee, the fishing gear was set up on the deck. A half-finished cup of coffee was found sitting at the helm, and Kawahara’s oatmeal was left unfinished, as if the experienced fisherman suddenly disappeared in the middle of breakfast, said Heather Burns, a longtime friend.

His life jacket, she said, was found hanging in the boat.

Kawahara’s friends suspect “a freak occurrence” may have tossed him overboard somewhere out at sea.

Born in Seattle, Kawahara was a professional fisherman who focused on salmon, albacore tuna and halibut. But friends and colleagues said Kawahara was a passionate advocate for fish and conservancy, fighting to maintain safe and healthy habitats for fish.

Burns said Kawahara was a loyal and dependable friend who “would do anything for the people he loved.”

HEATHER BURNS BORN in Seattle, Joel Kawahara was a professional fisherman who focused on salmon, albacore and halibut.

As a fisherman and advocate he worked to protect the waters, the fish and the fishermen that he dedicated so much time to.