Boy Missing After Falling Off Raft

Sun., May 4, 1997

Associated Press

A 13-year-old boy disappeared early Saturday after falling off a rubber raft while fishing, the Coast Guard said.

The boy, whose identity was not immediately available, was on an 8-foot rubber raft on the east side of Whidbey Island when he fell overboard about 6:30 a.m., said Petty Officer Andy Devilbiss.

Witnesses said the boy, who was fishing with another 13-year-old, was not wearing a life jacket.

Waters in the area average around 51 degrees, Devilbiss said.

“With that temperature, survival time is estimated at around 2-1/2 hours,” he said.

Search efforts by two Island County boats and helicopters from the Navy and Coast Guard were concentrated east of Penn Cove and south of Crescent Harbor.

The second boy was not injured and was taken to shore.

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