Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard cutter Oliver Henry deploy a parachute flare west of Guam, April 15, 2025, while searching for a missing boater. (Raymond Cerrato/U.S. Coast Guard)
The U.S. Coast Guard has shifted from small boats to long-range aircraft in its search for a missing Guam fisherman, as the operation entered its fifth day Wednesday.
The search for Jeffrey Hattori, 58, has covered more than 32,000 square miles and involves the Coast Guard, U.S. Navy, Guam Fire Rescue and local authorities, said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Sara Muir, spokeswoman for Coast Guard Forces Micronesia/Sector Guam.
“The search has covered a vast and dynamic area west and northwest of Guam, extending up to 60 nautical miles offshore, including fishing grounds and coastal zones,” she said in an email Wednesday.
Hattori departed Hagatna Boat Basin around 5:30 a.m. Saturday aboard the Lady G, a 14-foot skiff, for a recreational fishing trip. He was reported overdue by his wife after failing to return by 4 p.m. A search-and-rescue operation began around 9 p.m. that evening.
As the search has shifted farther offshore, the Coast Guard has recalled its smaller boats and deployed an HC-130 Hercules aircraft from Air Station Barbers Point, Hawaii, according to a Wednesday news release. The long-range aircraft is equipped with radar and sensors designed for wide-area maritime search operations.
The U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies are searching for Jeffrey Hattori, seen here posing with a catch near his 14-foot skiff Lady G, after he was reported overdue from a fishing trip on April 12, 2025. (U.S. Coast Guard)
An MH-60S Sea Hawk with Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 investigates possible debris west of Guam on April 15, 2025, while searching for an overdue boater. (U.S. Coast Guard)
“We’re exercising every possibility, asking all the ‘what ifs,’ and leaving no stone unturned in our search for Mr. Hattori,” Lt. Chelsea Garcia, search and rescue mission coordinator, said in the release. “Our dedication to this community and region drives us, but we face the stark reality of the danger in the vast and remote waters we operate in.”
Other U.S. military assets participating include a Navy P-8 Poseidon surveillance aircraft from Task Force 72 in Misawa, Japan; an MH-60S Sea Hawk crew from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 25 on Guam; and the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Oliver Henry, homeported on Guam.
Crews are also using self-locating datum marker buoys, which transmit data from the ocean surface to help predict currents and refine the search area, Muir said.
Favorable conditions at the start of the search have begun to deteriorate, with 15-knot east winds and seas of 5 to 7 feet reported Wednesday. Stronger winds and rougher seas are forecast in the coming days, though no advisories are currently in effect.
The Coast Guard urged anyone with information or sightings of the Lady G, which has a blue Bimini top, to contact Joint Rescue Center Guam at 671-355-4826 or 1-877-418-0168.
