'I thought he was dead.' Crabbing crew recount dramatic rescue off Washington coast

Natalie Akane Newcomb

Gabriel Spitzer

November 21, 2025 / 2:24 pm

Marcus Cole, the co-owner of the crabbing vessel "Lady Nancy," has been fishing the waters off the coast of Washington state since 1999. Monday morning, he and his crew heard a distress call from a boat called the Abby C. The coordinates placed them near the entrance of Grays Harbor.

The Lady Nancy was about 20 miles away. Cole pointed his vessel toward the coordinates and motored toward the distress call to help search for the crew of the Abby C.

“The seas were extremely rough, and we were driving around, we didn't see anything or a boat or anything,” Cole said.

The Lady Nancy passed the location of the missing crew at least once, b

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