ANCHORAGE, Alaska - A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk crew hoisted two men from a skiff drifting approximately 14 miles south of Amchitka Island at about 9:30 p.m. in the Aleutian Islands Sunday following a 22 hour search by Coast Guard aircrafts.
Rod Whitehead, 50, resident of Adak, and Bill Osterback, 35, resident of Sand Point, were returning to Amatignak Island Saturday aboard a 15-foot fiberglass skiff, described as an old Navy landing craft, to pick up four surveyors when their vessel's engine seized leaving them adrift in 28 mph winds and 12 foot seas without survival gear or extra supplies aboard.
An HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak was launched and arrived on scene at about 6 a.m. Sunday. The crew completed an initial search by 7:30 a.m. with no sign of the two men and returned to base for refueling. Reduced visibility and a low ceiling forced the crew to search with radar only.
Another Coast Guard HC-130 aircraft launched, located the two men at about 2:30 p.m. and dropped supplies including a radio. The Hercules remained on scene until the Jayhawk crew arrived at 7:40 p.m. to hoist the men aboard.
The two men were transferred to awaiting emergency medical services in Adak and treated for dehydration.
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