Family’s Alaska fishing trip becomes nightmare with 3 dead and search over for 2 more

FILE - This January 2019 photo shows Sitka Channel in Sitka, Alaska, the home port for a charter fishing boat that sank in nearby waters killing three and leaving two lost at sea in late May 2023. The tragedy has put a spotlight on the safety of southeast Alaska’s vibrant charter fishing industry and on the port town of Sitka, where charter operators charge thousands of dollars per person for guided fishing trips. (James Poulson/The Daily Sitka Sentinel via AP, File)

In this photo provided by Vernon Tyau, Jarek Agcaoili, left, with his mother Danielle, sister Jessika and father Maury Agcaoili pose in May 2023, at Jessika’s high school graduation in Hawaii. Danielle and Maury Agcaoili were among boaters who died Sunday, May 28, 2023, near Sitka, Alaska, when a fishing vessel ran into trouble in rough seas. (Vernon Tyau via AP)

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska fishing adventure became a nightmare for a family of eight when disaster struck one of the two boats they chartered over the Memorial Day weekend, leaving three people dead and two more missing despite a desperate search over hundreds of square miles of ocean.