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The Coast Guard on Sunday night suspended its search for a crab fisherman reporting missing Saturday in a 16-foot red skiff in Passage Canal near Whittier.
Multiple Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews, a Coast Guard Station Valdez boat crew and the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Mustang searched a 10-square-mile area in Passage Canal and Whittier Harbor for more than 35 hours.
The crews of the good Samaritan vessels Qayaq Chief and Krystalsea also assisted. The weather at the scene was reported as 25 to 40 mph wind, 2- to 4-foot seas and clear skies.
The boater was last seen Saturday leaving to tend crab pots near Whittier.
"The vessel reportedly made a trip to tend crab pots just north of Whittier and normally returns before approximately 1 p.m.," a Coast Guard statement said.
"The crew of the Krystalsea spotted signs of debris this afternoon on the north side of the canal and found an ice chest possibly belonging to the owner of the overdue vessel," the statement said.