‘I just wish I had more time’: Friends, family remember fisherman killed in Bristol Bay accident

Fisherman Corwin Wheeler, 21, died successful a Kvichak Bay cogwheel entanglement connected Friday, July 5, 2024. (Courtesy Jeff Rowe)

Fishermen successful Bristol Bay are mourning 1 of their ain who died Friday during nan sockeye salmon gillnet fishery. Alaska State Troopers said successful an online dispatch that Corwin Wheeler, 21, became tangled successful cogwheel and fell overboard.

Wheeler was moving arsenic a deckhand connected nan gillnetter Anna Joy successful Kvichak Bay erstwhile he went overboard. Another deckhand, Jackson Wilder, said Wheeler was throwing a hook to propulsion their nett successful erstwhile he sewage wrapped successful nan line.

Wilder said that nan unit connected platform tried to free Wheeler but he fell overboard. Wilder said it’s imaginable Wheeler was already unconscious erstwhile he fell.

Wilder said he jumped into nan h2o wearing his afloat rainfall cogwheel and boots and swam 20 feet to Wheeler. He tried to support Wheeler’s caput supra h2o but he had to fto spell because he was tiring quickly. Neither Wilder nor Wheeler were wearing PFDs astatine nan time, which is not uncommon erstwhile commercialized fishing.

The unit pulled Wilder successful pinch a line, past threw buoys and floats overboard truthful that if Wheeler regained consciousness he would person thing to grab. They yet sewage Wheeler backmost connected committee erstwhile they pulled up nan net. Wilder and nan boat’s skipper performed CPR until authorities troopers arrived to return over.

Wilder calls nan decease a freak mishap and said location was nary wrongdoing by anyone. He said that it was a normal time and that nan unit was good rested.

Wheeler’s father, Jeff Rowe, said pinch KDLG. He said Wheeler was a awesome kid and that he was becoming an unthinkable man.

“I conscionable wish I had much time,” Rowe said.

Wheeler’s mother, Leah Wheeler-Riggazi, said her boy will beryllium greatly missed by his sister Zoe and each of his family, arsenic good arsenic by nan friends and family that he created while sportfishing successful Alaska and backmost location successful Wisconsin.

He grew up successful Trevor, Wisconsin, and past went to precocious schoolhouse successful Round Lake, Illinois. Wheeler had fished successful Alaska for a number of years pinch Alaska Leader Fisheries, a hook and statement company. According to his grandmother, Denise Rowe, this was his first twelvemonth commercialized sportfishing for sockeye salmon.

Rowe said that Wheeler first started sportfishing successful Alaska erstwhile immoderate friends went up.

“And Corwin stayed retired there. And he sewage into that. And he loved it,” Rowe said. “He made a batch of friends. They, you know, they had really bully times. And he was happy.”

The family described Wheeler arsenic intelligent, outgoing and a committed friend.

“He was conscionable truthful smart. And he had a speedy wit and he made friends easy. It was for illustration you knew him forever,” Rowe said.

Rowe said she hopes different crews retired connected nan h2o will do what they tin to enactment safe this season. She hopes “for these young guys, and family guys, to beryllium careful. And watch retired for 1 another.”

According to nan National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, astir 1 successful 10 commercialized sportfishing deaths impact cogwheel entanglement. This was nan first commercialized sportfishing decease connected nan h2o successful Bristol Bay since 2021.