At about 10:30 p.m. Sunday, Ketchikan Troopers received a 911 call from a 35-year-old Georgia man, reporting that he and his 14-year-old son were stranded near the Harris River Drainage near Hollis on Prince of Wales Island.
The two were members of a five-person black bear hunting party, all from the Lower 48. The other three hunters had dropped them off, and then taken the skiff to the head of 12 Mile Arm to hunt, and were two hours overdue to pick up the man and his son. Weather conditions were deteriorating, and the man said nobody in the group had gear to spend the night outdoors.
Klawock Troopers went to Hollis and borrowed a boat for a hasty search. At about 12:15 a.m., the man and his son were found and picked up. Troopers continued toward the head of 12 Mile Arm, where they found the other three hunters.
Investigation shows that the outgoing tide had stranded the skiff on the beach, and by the time the tide had come up enough to refloat the vessel, it was too dark for the three hunters to navigate back.
All members of the hunting group were safely escorted to Hollis, and no injuries were reported.
