By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The cause of a boating accident that resulted in the death of Theodosy Merculief, 41, was “a catastrophic steering system failure that threw both occupants from the skiff into the water,” Alaska Troopers reported Friday.
“One of the steering cables was found broken during an inspection after the skiff was taken out of the water,” troopers said in the update on the April 9 accident near Lisianski Point. “Based on a preliminary investigation by the medical examiner, Mr. Merculief’s death was caused by a combination of hypothermia and drowning.”
Troopers on April 12 issued a public report on the accident.
After Merculief and another man, James Jensen, 43, were thrown overboard, their unmanned 17-foot Boston Whaler was spotted traveling in circles. Good Samaritan boaters responded, and pulled Merculief and Jensen from the water. The two men were taken by ambulances from the Starrigavan boat launch to Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center, where Merculief was declared deceased.
At the time of the accident, Sitka police said, Jensen was conscious when pulled from the water, but Merculief was unresponsive and CPR begun.
Merculief had been wearing a PFD at the time of the accident, troopers said.
An Alaska State Troopers spokesman Friday afternoon notified the media that an update had been posted on the troopers’ Dispatches website, with the results of the investigation.
