Search for Missing After Boat Sinks Near Alcatraz

Authorities continued their search for three missing individuals after a boat involved in a memorial service sank in the cold, swift waters of San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz Island. One person was pulled from the water but later died, and rescuers saved 16 others after the vessel capsized on Tuesday afternoon, described by witnesses as being in ‘choppy seas,’ according to San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispen.

‘It appears the boat began taking on water and flipped over in the bay,’ Crispen stated during a press conference on Tuesday. Upon arrival, rescuers found the boat’s engine still running and leaking fuel.

Footage from Tuesday showed rescue boats surrounding the mostly submerged vessel while debris floated nearby. A dog on board also died.

Fire Department spokesperson, Lieutenant Mariano Elias, described the vessel as a 50-foot recreational boat named Volare, registered in Stockton, California. Search teams utilized thermal imaging, tide predictions, and models to guide their efforts. By Tuesday night, authorities searched open waters west of the Golden Gate Bridge.

Initial reports suggested smoke emanating from the boat, but responding officers determined it was steam. The vessel, according to tracking site VesselFinder, embarked from the St. Francis Yacht Club, passed under the Golden Gate Bridge twice, and visited Angel Island, a state park in the bay, before the return journey. A person at the yacht club declined to provide information when contacted on Tuesday.

Alcatraz Island, famously a nearly inescapable former federal prison due to icy waters and strong currents, is about one mile from San Francisco and now a popular tourist destination. Elias reported the vessel was approximately 600 yards from Alcatraz when the emergency call was received shortly after 3:30 p.m.

Contributing to this report were correspondents Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; Ed White in Detroit; Sophie Austin in Sacramento, California; Claire Rush in Portland, Oregon; Hallie Golden in Seattle, and Noah Berger in San Francisco.