Mexican officials complete investigation into capsized fishing boat

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

After months of waiting “tirelessly by the phone on pins and needles,” families of seven missing fishermen whose boat sunk in Sea of Cortez in July 2011 may soon know the fate of their fathers.

“The State Department contacted my mom to let us that the Mexican Government has completed their investigation,” Mandi Lee-Han, the daughter of missing San Ramon fisherman Donald Lee, wrote on Facebook. “They are now looking into when the report will be released to the spouses of the missing. We are one step closer to bringing my father home.”

Fishing boat, the Erik, capsized off the coast of San Felipe on July 3 around 2 a.m. during a storm in the Gulf of Mexico. There were 43 passengers onboard — 27 American tourists and 16 crew members — and approximately 37 of the people thrown overboard made it to shore. One man was confirmed drowned after the incident, and seven remain missing: Lee, Albert Mein of Twain Harte, Gene Leong, of Dublin, Brian Wong, of Berkeley, Shawn Chaddock, of Petaluma, Mark Dorland, of Twain Harte, and Russell Bautista, of Penn Grove.

Murphy Ikegami, the wife of one of the survivors, Lee, said there were 20-foot swells, which knocked the crew and passengers into the water before an SOS call could be made. It was not until the first group of survivors made it to shore that search and rescue crews were advised there had been an accident, she said.

Donald Lee’s wife, May, told reporters that the Mexican government conducted two investigations — one to find the cause of capsizing and another for criminal negligence. Investigators found remains in September, but families have not been able to positively identify their missing relatives because the Mexican government classifies remains as evidence.

“The results of the investigation will also take different paths. Regardless, these men were loved to the depth of our souls. And so we wait and hope again,” The Find Our Fathers Facebook page stated.