Rhett Richards, 28, was a crew member on the F/V Odin. Photo/Facebook
Charles Richards of Seattle, who went by Rhett, was found unresponsive in his bunk by a crew member. He was 28 years old.
Richards was taken to the Wrangell clinic where he was pronounced dead and was transferred to the state medical examiner’s office in Anchorage for autopsy. The cause of death is not known.
Mark Severson of Petersburg is the owner of the Odin. He says Richards went to college with his son Cameron.
“That’s how he came to get on the boat,” Severson said. “I needed a guy, and he filled in. He was a great hard worker and a happy go-lucky kid.”
Severson says his son Cameron recently took over operating the boat.
The vessel was southwest of Wrangell in Anita Bay when the call came in.
“One of the guys came down when Cameron was starting up the machinery and said Rhett was not moving. So they started doing CPR and called the coast guard right away,” Severson said.
Severson says Wrangell search and rescue arrived about 40 minutes after the call.
