Sailboat runs aground near Alcatraz, and sailor goes missing for over week, CA cops say
A sailor who went missing for over a week after calling family to say he was headed to shore has been found safe, California police said.
George Ferguson, 67, called family on Aug. 18 to say his newly purchased 30-foot-long sailboat, named Bianca, had run aground near Alcatraz Island, the Petaluma Police Department said in an Aug. 24 Facebook post.
Ferguson told family the U.S. Coast Guard helped him free his boat, and he was headed back toward Petaluma, police said.
But police said the family did not hear from Ferguson again and his phone was turned off.
Family worried about his “cognitive medical issues” and “limited boating experience” reported him missing on Aug. 22, according to police.
Police said they confirmed with the Coast Guard that they helped Ferguson on Aug. 18.
The Coast Guard searched for Ferguson and tried to reach him via maritime radio with no success, police said.
Four days after he was reported missing, Solano County deputies spotted a boat, later confirmed to be Ferguson’s, in the San Pablo Bay, police said in an Aug. 26 news release.
Ferguson was “in good health,” police said, and his boat was towed to a Vallejo marina.
Police said information about where Ferguson traveled was not available.
Petaluma is about 40 miles northwest of San Francisco.
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