Search continues for missing men off Tofino
Even as the official search has been scaled back, boats from First Nation communities near Tofino continued looking on Monday for three men missing since their boat capsized early Friday morning.
The men have been identified by friends and family as Marcel Martin, Carl Martin Jr. and Terrance Brown Jr., all members of the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation.
Five people were in the boat when it capsized near Duffin Cove about 2:30 a.m. Friday. One man was able to swim to shore and another was rescued by a Canadian Coast Guard vessel.
Marcel Martin was honoured for bravery for his role in pulling bodies from the water after the Leviathan ll, a whale watching vessel, sank off Tofino in October 2015. Five Britons and one Australian died and 21 survivors were pulled from the frigid water. Marcel Martin, his father Carl Sr. and cousin Donald Williams Jr. were halibut fishing when they heard emergency calls over the marine radio. They were one of the first boats to arrive at the scene.
Survivors were being pulled into another rescue boat. Martin’s boat was being swept dangerously close to a reef, but the trio managed to pull three bodies from the water.
In March 2016, the three men were given bravery medals by the Lifesaving Society — B.C. and Yukon.
On Monday, Marcel Martin’s wife, Ivy Helene, posted on the Tofino Bulletin Board Facebook page: “Thank you to all that have provided support in so many ways. My babies & I appreciate the efforts to bring home their Daddy & uncles. Thank you Tofino & Nuuchahnulth. I will never forget what you’ve done for us.”
Hundreds of people and dozens of boats have been searching the water, shoreline, nearby islands and inlets since Friday. An RCMP dive team searched the ocean with sonar equipment.
“The search is stil active, and everyone is doing everything they can to exhaust every opportunity,” said Tofino Mayor Josie Osborne. A community meeting took place on Monday and critical-incident support workers are on hand for anyone who needs them, Osborne said.
David Provencale, a chef at the Ice House Oyster bar who has known Marcel Martin for three years, said he was always working to feed his family.
“He was a good fisherman. Everyone in town knows him. He’s one of the best fishermen I know.”
Wendy Hainstock, manager of Whalers on the Point Guesthouse, said she knows the three men through a family friend. “They were very skilled First Nations fishermen. They knew the area really well.”
Hainstock said some are holding out hope that the men might be found alive somewhere while others are fearing the worst.
“It’s a huge loss for the community. Not just for family members but marine guides. These were people who held a lot of the stories of the area and cultural knowledge.”