The U.S. Coast Guard Forces Micronesia, in coordination with Guam Fire Rescue and the U.S. Navy, continues its active search for 58-year-old Jeffery Hattori, a local boater reported missing on Saturday, April 12.
Hattori departed Hagåtña Boat Basin at approximately 5:30 a.m. aboard a 14-foot white skiff named Lady G, which features a blue canopy top and is registered as GU 325 PU. When he failed to return by 4 p.m., his wife reported him missing, prompting a multi-agency search effort.
“We’re working closely with our partners at Guam Fire and the U.S. Navy,” said Chief Warrant Officer Sara Muir of the U.S. Coast Guard Micronesia. She said the Joint Rescue Subcenter refined the search area after they received cellular data information from Hattori’s cellular provider, informing his last known location.
“The last known location that his phone pinged, where he was most likely to have been fishing and that’s off the northwestern coast of Guam so the Ritidian area,” said Muir.
As a result, search efforts are targeting Ritidian Point and waters off western Guam.
Search crews have utilized the Coast Guard’s specialized Search and Rescue Optimal Panning System, which factors weather conditions, vessel information, and drift patterns to help determine the most probable search areas.
Assets involved in the search include:
- A 45-foot Coast Guard Response Boat from Station Apra Harbor
- A U.S. Navy HSC-25 “Nighthawk” helicopter
- A P-8 Pseidon aircraft from Misawa, Japan
- Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Henry
- Guam Fire Rescue vessels
On Sunday, search teams recovered a life ring in the area, but it was later identified as belonging to the tank vessel Morning Ibis and not related to Hattori’s skiff. Despite this setback, teams continued their efforts based on probable drift patterns and continue to await community reports of possible sightings. Guam Fire Rescue continues coastal and offshore searches.
Authorities urge anyone with information about Jeffery Hattori or the Lady G to contact the Joint Rescue Sub-Center Guam at (671) 355-4825.
