The pilot house bridge from the fishing vessel Ethel May was pounded by the surf Monday near the mouth of Willapa Bay. 

BAY CENTER, Wash. — Two crew members were rescued and a third was still missing Monday night after the 46-foot F/V Ethel May, out of Bay Center, sank Feb. 5 at the mouth of Willapa Bay at around 7:26 p.m.

Crews from U.S. Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor and Air Station Astoria responded to the sinking after an emergency beacon was activated and the wife of one of the men called 911 to report an emergency onboard. A helicopter from the air station was able to rescue two crewmen from a life raft at about 8:10 p.m. The survivors said a third and final crew member was still missing.

Both survivors were taken ashore to awaiting emergency medical services and then taken to Willapa Harbor Hospital for evaluation for possible hypothermia.

The USCG worked throughout the night Sunday and on Monday continued to search for the missing crew member, Bryson Fitch, a young man residing in Bay Center.

Residents in Tokeland reported that the helicopter was doing a search grid from Bay Center to Tokeland as late as midnight Sunday.

The search continued into Monday morning, with Pacific County Emergency Management Agency assisting with efforts and the Pacific County Sheriff’s Office and USCG acting as lead agencies.

“I am helping coordinate, getting the sheriff’s office information that they can use to support the search,” PCEMA Director Scott McDougall said. “The sheriff’s office is coordinating resources to go out and do the [searching].”

“The search area has been divided up into specific areas with the USCG searching some. The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife is searching for some. The county is searching some, so it’s broken up into specific areas,” he added.

It’s unclear what caused the boat to sink. The crew was reportedly working the Dungeness crabbing season that opened Feb. 1.

Search crews located debris from the vessel within Willapa Bay and the abutting waters of the Pacific, indicating the vessel has broken apart. A new pilot house bridge belonging to the vessel washed into the surf zone Monday.

At the time of the sinking, sea swells were reported to be about 6-7 feet, however the breaking surf near local beaches has been energetic in recent days.

The F/V Ethel May was built in South Bend in 1948 and was primarily docked out of Westport. It had recently been sold under contract and the pilot house had been added, perhaps affecting its stability, the contract holder said Monday.

The Pacific Northwest Dungeness crab fishery is considered one of the nation’s most hazardous occupations, with mid-winter weather and surf conditions frequently creating dangerous conditions.

“We want nothing more than to find the last individual from the fishing vessel Ethel May,” said Lt. Cmdr. Colin Fogarty, the search and rescue mission coordinator for Sector Columbia River.

“Since the Coast Guard received initial reports, our operators have been diligently carrying out search operations. We have assets on the water, in the air, and on shore from four different Coast Guard units and we are interfacing with local agencies to effectively search Willapa Bay and the surrounding area.”