VOCAL EXERCISES - Artist in the Schools instructor Sarah Branton of Cherry Creek, Colorado, leads an exercise in the Sitka High School band room this morning as she teaches students how to improve their volume. Branton will be here all week working with choirs at Blatchley Middle School and Sitka High. Her instruction is part of the effort to rebuild school choir programs and numbers following the pandemic. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Names Released In Boat Sinking
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
Alaska State Troopers this morning released the names of the five people who were aboard a charter fishing boat that sank in Sitka Sound Sunday.
A body recovered from the water Sunday by the Coast Guard helicopter that was first on the scene of the sinking was identified today as Maury Agcaoili, 57, of Waipahu, Hawaii.
The four individuals missing after an intensive air-sea search was suspended Monday night were identified by troopers as Danielle Agcaoili, 53, Waipahu, Hawaii; Robert Solis, 61, Canoga Park, California; Brandi Tyau, 56, Canoga Park, California; and Morgan Robidou, 32, of Sitka. Robidou was skipper of the boat and the other four were charter clients.
The boat with the five aboard had gone out early Sunday for a day of charter fishing, and was reported overdue by the company, Kingfisher Charters, that evening.
A Coast Guard helicopter was launched at 7 p.m. Sunday and quickly found the mostly submerged boat near the southeast end of Kruzof Island. About five feet of the bow section remained above water. The man in the water was unresponsive, and was pronounced deceased when the helicopter returned to Sitka, troopers said.
A 20-hour air, sea and land search of more than 800 square miles was suspended by the Coast Guard at 9:30 p.m. Monday.
Throughout the search the aluminum boat was seen bobbing in the surf, with the transom bouncing off the bottom of the ocean in the shallow water on the northeast side of of Low Island, on the southeastern end of Kruzof Island.
On Tuesday the Sitka Fire Department said conditions were too dangerous for divers to continue efforts to access the wrecked vessel on Monday.
Efforts to recover the boat continued today, troopers said. The salvage company Hanson Maritime of Sitka is assisting with coordination and vessel recovery efforts.
“Conditions on scene have been rough seas and strong wind,” troopers said this morning.
Taking part in the search and recovery efforts are the U.S. Coast Guard, Sitka Fire Department dive and search and rescue teams, NOAA Office of Law Enforcement, and Alaska State Troopers. A number of good Samaritan vessels helped out as well.
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AK COVID-19
At a Glance
(updated 9-12-2023)
By Sentinel Staff
The state Department of Health and Social Services has posted the following update on the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Alaska as of 8:57 a.m. Tuesday, September 12.
New cases as of Tuesday: 278
Total cases (cumulative) statewide – 301,513
Total (cumulative) deaths – 1,485
Case Rate per 100,000 – 38.14
To visit the Alaska DHSS Corona Response dashboard website click here.
COVID in Sitka
The Sitka community level is now "Low.'' Case statistics are as of Tuesday.
Case Rate/100,000 – 152.50
Cases in last 7 days – 13
Cumulative Sitka cases – 3,575
Deceased (cumulative) – 10
The local case data are from Alaska DHSS.
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20 YEARS AGO
September 2003
Sitka Tribe of Alaska is “upset and disturbed” about the Senate appropriations bill that cuts spending for Alaska tribal courts, STA Vice Chairman Gil Truitt said today. He was referring to Sen. Ted Stevens’ move to divert Department of Justice grants from tribal courts and tribal police officers to fund the Village Public Safety Officer program.
50 YEARS AGO
September 1973
Photo caption: Receiving service pins at a Carpenters Union Local 466 dinner meeting at the Kiksadi Club were, from left, Arthur Littlefield, Alvin Helm, Harley Finch, Dave Gibson, Gerald Hughes, Fred Nelson, Walter Moy, Edward Nelson, William Sutton and Don Stromme.