ASTORIA, Ore. — A Camas father and his 11-year-old son are still missing after their boat capsized at the Columbia River Bar earlier this month. Two men, who were also on the boat, survived and were rescued thanks to a Good Samaritan.
"My husband spotted what he thought were sea lions on the Columbia River Bar. And as we got closer we realized they were two men," said Cheryl Pritchett, who spotted the two men. “We just knew we needed to do what we could to help save their lives."
Pritchett told KGW, she and her husband were fishing the morning of July 13 — something they've done nearly every weekend for the last 30 years. And, it was a gut feeling she had to tell her husband to cross through the Bar during very choppy conditions. That's when she said she saw the two men from afar.
"As we got closer, we saw that their anchor rope had been deployed out of their vessel, and we couldn't get close enough with the wind and the waves," she said.
Pritchett said 5- to 6-foot waves crashed into her boat the morning of the accident — while she radioed in her coordinates to the U.S. Coast Guard for help.
"We had thought about waiting it out before we crossed period and my husband decided, let's just go ahead and go for it,” said Pritchett. “And at that moment, we just really felt like we were there at the right moment to see these men hanging on for their dear lives on their capsized boat."
She credited her inkling as a sign from God, saying any other day, they would have held off on crossing the Columbia River Bar in those conditions. But they spoke with the two men briefly — telling them help is on the way.
“Two charter boats from Pacific Salmon Charters in Awako heard my call for help and got there very shortly after I called on the radio,” said Pritchett. “And those two boats were able to rescue the men in the water."
The father-son duo that's still missing: 43-year-old Constantin Leahu and 11-year-old Andrei Leahu. The pair leaves behind four members of their family.
The Coast Guard said it has suspended its search for the two pending further developments.
The family has started a GoFundMe, if you'd like to help.
