The teen’s brother and cousin died after the small skiff flipped, and their bodies were found after he was hoisted to safety
1-MIN READ1-MINAssociated PressPublished: 3:26am, 12 Sep 2026Bobbing for days atop a capsized skiff in Alaska’s frigid Bering Sea, a 15-year-old boy held on until he was rescued by a fishing vessel this week, the US coastguard said.
The boy’s brother and a cousin died sometime after the small boat flipped, according to the rescuers.
Their bodies were found after the teen was hoisted to safety near St Lawrence Island – a remote Alaskan island that is closer to Russia than it is to the United States.
The captain of the fishing boat, The Northwest Explorer, said the boy had clung to the skiff for close to three days. “That’s one tough kid,” Adam White told KTUU-TV in Anchorage.
Coastguard planes and helicopters began searching for the skiff on Monday morning after family members reported the three missing the night before. Authorities did not release the names of the three.
The group left St Lawrence Island on Friday and planned to return early on Sunday, the coastguard said.
