Wreckage of 2 of 3 Missing Fishing Boats Found

The Coast Guard on Wednesday reported finding wreckage of two storm-battered fishing boats off Baja California but found no sign of a third boat.

Coast Guard searchers found parts of the bow of the Apache Brave and a gill net, and other debris from the Kitty Lee. No sign was found of the Kathryn.

The Apache Brave wreckage was floating 60 miles southwest of Ensenada. The Kitty Lee wreckage was found 110 miles southwest of San Diego.

A Coast Guard spokesman said the Apache Brave left San Pedro a week ago with four people aboard for a two-week fishing trip and was last heard from Monday. Names of the four were not released.

Both the Kitty Lee and Kathryn were based in San Diego and owned by experienced commercial fishermen from Point Loma.

Ronnie Rowe, 54, was alone aboard the 34-foot Kitty Lee when it left San Diego. Aboard the 35-foot Kathryn were owner Randy Hodgden, 39, and crew member Danny Patterson, 35, also of San Diego.

“Randy is a seasoned fisherman and very adept at foul weather,” said Mickey Kendrick, whose sister is engaged to Hodgden. “We know that Randy would be smart enough to know what to do. Our hope is that he headed south or east and is now out of radio range. There’s a lot of ocean out there where he could be.”

Mickey Kendrick’s fiance, Frank Perkins, was aboard the Vivian M in the same area when it was hit by the fierce storm Sunday. The boom and propeller shaft on the Vivian M snapped and it was towed back to San Diego by a Coast Guard cutter.

“Frank last heard from Randy by radio early on Sunday morning,” Kendrick said. “He said the weather was getting worse and he wanted to head east to ride it out. The waves were 30 feet high and winds were 80 to 100 m.p.h.”

“This one caught a lot of people by surprise,” said Vivian M owner Roy Myking Jr.

Hodgden’s father, Bob Hodgden, hired two private aircraft to supplement the Coast Guard search, which covered an 8,000-square-mile area.

“It was a major storm with gale-force winds, possibly more,” the elder Hodgden said. “I just can’t believe they stayed out.”

A close friend of Rowe, who asked not to be identified, said simply: “We’re all praying. It does not look good.”

The Coast Guard said the cruise ship Tropical, en route from San Pedro to Mazatlan, reported seeing a man in the water late Monday afternoon about 110 miles southwest of San Diego.

At about the same time, the Coast Guard received a distress call from the Vivian M, which was 60 miles southwest of San Diego.

Aiding in the Coast Guard search Tuesday and Wednesday for the Kitty Lee and Kathryn were the cutter Resolute, two jet aircraft and three C-130s. The overnight search was conducted by Navy aircraft, using infrared surveillance equipment.

On Wednesday, the Coast Guard search was suspended about 4 p.m. because of darkness, with plans to resume it this morning.

The search for the Apache Brave was conducted separately and the Coast Guard was undecided whether it will be resumed. An empty life raft was found near the Apache Brave’s last known location on Tuesday, and on Wednesday a portion of the bow that includes the ship’s nameplate was found.