man steals yacht astoria

Man rescued from sinking yacht in Oregon allegedly left dead fish at 'Goonies' house days earlier

Police in Astoria, Oregon, said the yacht had been stolen.

A man saved from a sinking yacht was later identified as a wanted suspect who allegedly left a fish on the porch of the house from “The Goonies” in Oregon, police said.

The yacht had been stolen and the man, identified as Jericho Labonte, 35, was arrested after the rescue, police in Astoria, Oregon, said.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Northwest district on Friday released a video of a yacht in danger in high waves at the mouth of the Colombia River.

“The surf made rescue by boat dangerous, so the aircrew decided to lower the rescue swimmer and have the owner enter the water for rescue,” the Coast Guard said. “As he entered the water the vessel capsized but the rescue swimmer was able to safely recover the individual.”

After the Coast Guard posted the video, police in Astoria, Oregon, said they began receiving calls about both the rescued man and the vessel.

“On February 3, 2023, we received a call from Port Security Chief Matt Hansen informing us that the vessel involved in the Coast Guard rescue earlier in the day was stolen from the Port of Astoria,” the department said in a news release . “He recognized the vessel on the video, contacted the owner, and confirmed that it had been stolen.”

Calls also began coming in about the man who had been rescued, with locals identifying him as Labonte, police said. Police in Victoria, British Columbia, had been searching for Labonte since at least Jan. 19, when they issued a province-wide arrest warrant for him for five unendorsed warrants for charges of criminal harassment, mischief and three counts of failure to comply.

Police in Oregon said Labonte was released from the hospital on Friday before they realized who he was.

“He had been transported to Columbia Memorial Hospital after the rescue as a precaution and was discharged before being identified as the suspect,” Astoria police officials said.

Astoria Police said they had added their own charges against Labonte, saying in press release that he was wanted on charges including theft, endangering another person, unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal mischief.

They said they had received a call on Feb. 1 saying that Labonte “had posted a video of himself on Facebook placing a dead fish on the front porch of the Goonies’ house.”

Labonte was arrested on Friday evening at the Seaside Warming Center, a shelter in Astoria, police said.

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Wanted Victoria man arrested after dramatic U.S. Coast Guard rescue of stolen yacht

Jericho Labonte turned up in northwestern Oregon, leaving a bizarre trail involving dead fish, the Goonies' house, and a stolen yacht.

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A Victoria man wanted on a B.C.-wide warrant has been arrested in Oregon after a dramatic rescue from a yacht caught in the rough, churning waters of the Columbia River.

Jericho Labonte is wanted by police for harassment, mischief and failure to comply from an incident in Victoria last October. Last month, Victoria police issued an alert seeking the public’s assistance in locating the 36-year-old, who they believe posed a risk to public safety.

Labonte turned up in northwestern Oregon, leaving a bizarre trail involving dead fish, the Goonies’ house, and a stolen yacht.

On Friday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard rescued a mayday call from a yacht in trouble at the mouth of the Columbia River and triangulated the vessel’s location. The rescue was captured in a stunning video which shows a rescue swimmer lowered by cable from a helicopter, swimming to the yacht fondering in heavy surf and massive waves.

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(1/4) #BreakingNews - Talk about arriving in the nick of time! While conducting a training mission at the mouth of the Columbia River, 2 Coast Guard air crews received a #MAYDAY broadcast from the master of the P/C Sandpiper. After notifying watchstanders at Sector Columbia River pic.twitter.com/CtYSgpdPUG — USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) February 3, 2023

As the swimmer approached the vessel, a large wave slammed into it, rolling the boat over and throwing a man, later identified as Labonte, into the water.

The swimmer reached Labonte and pulled him to safety.

Labonte was flown to a Coast Guard base where medics treated him for mild hypothermia and took him to a hospital.

Police in Astoria had already been looking for Labonte since Wednesday, although they didn’t know who he was at the time.

They were looking for a man who had posted a video of himself on social media placing a dead fish on the front porch of the Goonies’ house — featured in the 1985 Steven Spielberg film The Goonies and one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions — and dancing around the property, said Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly.

On Friday, after the rescue, police got a call from port security telling them that the vessel involved in the rescue had been stolen. At the same time, the police department also got calls from several citizens identifying the rescued victim as Labonte.

“It’s been a really odd 48 hours,” Kelly said.

By the time police identified him as the suspect, Labonte had already been released from hospital.

Police found Labonte at a low-barrier shelter at a nearby town 35 km south of Astoria. He was taken into custody to face charges of theft, endangering another person, unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal mischief.

[email protected]

twitter.com/cherylchan

— with files from Associated Press

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Arrest made in stolen yacht rescue, ‘Goonies’ fish incident

A U.S. Coast Guard video captured a dramatic rescue showing a swimmer approaching a boat as heavy waves hit off Washington and Oregon (Feb. 3)

In this photo provided by the U.S Coast Guard Pacific Northwest, Coast Guard personnel help carry a swimmer from a rescue helicopter after he was rescued from the mouth of the Columbia River after his boat was capsized by a giant wave on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, at Coast Guard Base Astoria, Ore. A newly minted Coast Guard rescue swimmer saved the man’s life at the mouth of the river between Oregon and Washington state. (AET1 Kyle Turcotte/U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest via AP)

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In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest, a Coast Guard ship, left, attempts to a rescue a distressed yacht at the mouth of the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington state on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. A newly minted Coast Guard rescue swimmer saved the life of a man who was piloting the yacht. (AET1 Kyle Turcotte/U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest via AP)

FILE - The house featured in the Steven Spielberg film “The Goonies” is viewed in Astoria, Ore., May 24, 2001. A man who was saved by a Coast Guard rescue swimmer at the mouth of the Columbia River on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, as a massive wave overturned the yacht he was piloting turned out to be wanted by police for a bizarre incident in which he allegedly left a dead fish at the Astoria home. AP Photo/Stepanie Firth, File)

SEATTLE (AP) — A stolen yacht. A dramatic Coast Guard rescue . A dead fish. And the famed home featured in the classic 1985 film “The Goonies.”

Combined, Oregon police called it a series of “really odd” events along the Pacific Northwest coast spanning 48 hours that concluded Friday night with the arrest of a Canadian man.

Jericho Wolf Labonte, 35, of Victoria, British Columbia, was taken into custody in the northwestern Oregon resort town of Seaside, police said in a news release.

He’d been pulled from the ocean hours earlier by a Coast Guard swimmer, just after the yacht he was piloting capsized amid high waves. He was briefly hospitalized for mild hypothermia.

Labonte was discharged before authorities in nearby Astoria, Oregon, saw the rescue video and said they recognized him as the same person who covered over security cameras at the “Goonies” house and left the fish on the porch.

Police in Seaside, about 17 miles south of Astoria, said they found Labonte on Friday evening at a homeless shelter where he was staying “under an alias,” and arrested him on charges of theft, criminal mischief, endangering another person and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

He’s also wanted in Canada for “other cases,” Seaside police said.

It wasn’t immediately clear Sunday whether Labonte had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

“It’s been a really odd 48 hours,” Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly said Friday.

Police had been looking for Labonte since Wednesday, when an acquaintance alerted them to a video Labonte posted on social media of himself leaving a dead fish at the “Goonies” house and dancing around the property, Kelly said. The Victorian home was recently sold to a fan of the film , after being listed for $1.7 million.

Friday afternoon, before Labonte’s arrest, the Coast Guard shared stunning video of the rescue by Petty Officer 1st Class Branch Walton, a newly minted rescue swimmer from Greenville, South Carolina.

The 35-foot (11-meter) yacht had been reported stolen by its owner Friday afternoon. As the swimmer approached, a large wave slammed into the vessel, rolling it over and throwing a man, later identified as Labonte, into the water.

The mouth of the Columbia, the largest North American river flowing into the Pacific Ocean, is known as “the graveyard of the Pacific” for its notoriously rough seas.

Associated Press writer Rio Yamat reported from Las Vegas.

Man who allegedly left a dead fish at the 'Goonies' house rescued from rough seas near stolen yacht

Unknowing rescuers plucked a man accused of placing a dead fish at an Oregon house featured in "The Goonies" from rough waters Friday, moments after the yacht he'd been on capsized, authorities said.

The man, later identified as Jericho Labonte, 35, of Victoria, British Columbia, was taken into custody Friday after a number of people recognized him, police in Astoria, Oregon, said in a statement.

Authorities started pursuing Labonte after receiving a report Wednesday that he posted a video on Facebook that showed him placing the dead fish on the porch of the residence, police said. The home is nicknamed after "The Goonies," Steven Spielberg's 1985 boyhood adventure film in which the house appears.

But it wasn't until after the U.S. Coast Guard shared a video Friday showing a dramatic rescue that authorities learned the boat in the video had been stolen and the man rescued was believed to be Labonte, police said.

Astoria police said Labonte was wanted on allegations of theft, endangering another person, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and criminal mischief. Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly said some of the allegations were from preexisting cases in British Columbia, according to the Associated Press .

Video of the rescue taken from onboard a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter showed a person, later identified as Labonte, alone on a 35-foot vessel, which had put out a mayday call and was taking on water, the Coast Guard said. A rescue swimmer is seen cutting rapidly toward them through the rough seas until a wave neared, he went overboard, and the boat capsized.

The rescue swimmer took the wave head on, got under it, and emerged to grab the suspect, according to the the video and Coast Guard statements.

A helicopter crew hoisted the two up to safety, the agency said.

Later in the day, police were informed by the Port of Astoria security chief that the vessel from the rescue had been stolen from the port. Several residents also called to say they recognized the man rescued as Labonte, police said.

By the time Labonte was identified as the suspect, he had been released from Columbia Memorial Hospital following his rescue, police said.

Officers later arrested him about 17 miles south of Astoria in Seaside, Oregon, at a warming center for people who need shelter, Astoria police said late Friday night.

An attempt to reach Labonte was unsuccessful.

The rescue took place about 6 miles west of the mouth of the Columbia River off the Oregon Coast, according to Coast Guard. The seas off the coast were measured as high as 20 feet Friday, federal forecasters said.

The brave rescuer was identified late Friday as Aviation Survival Technician 3rd Class John “Branch” Walton. It was his first life saved as a rescue swimmer and he graduated later that day from the Coast Guard’s Advanced Helicopter Rescue School, the agency said.

Astoria, a city on the Columbia River, is roughly 100 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon.

A Kansas City entrepreneur bought the Victorian "Goonies" house in the city in December for $1.65 million, keeping his identity under wraps until the deal closed in January, according to reports from NBC affiliates  KING  of Seattle and  KGW  of Portland. The latter described buyer Behman Zakeri as a ‘Goonies’ “superfan” who intends to preserve the property as a place where the film’s other fans can visit and take selfies.

Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital. 

Coast Guard Swimmer Recounts Dramatic Rescue of Alleged Oregon Yacht Thief and ‘Goonies’ Prankster

On the morning the U.S. Coast Guard in Astoria received a frantic mayday call from a yacht sinking near the treacherous mouth of the Columbia River, John “Branch” Walton was in his fifth and final day of advanced training as a rescue swimmer.

Walton and his classmates leapt at the chance to respond. But it was a quick game of rock-paper-scissors that settled which swimmer would plunge into the churning, frigid waters nearby. Walton won. He was the least experienced of the bunch.

“They all could have got it done, but they let me go,” Walton said. “I was kind of in disbelief, like, ‘Oh, is this really happening?’”

Unbeknownst to the 22-year-old who learned to swim only after joining the Coast Guard a few years earlier, he’d soon execute a very difficult rescue seamlessly. And he would be thrust into the national limelight as millions viewed video of his first real-world rescue, taken from a camera mounted to the Coast Guard helicopter that flew him to the imperiled boater. Walton was widely lauded for his courage and agility.

It wasn’t until later that day that Walton and others in the Coast Guard would learn the man he’d pulled from the stormy waters allegedly had stolen the $160,000 yacht and drawn the attention of Astoria police for placing a dead fish on the porch of the famous “Goonies” house days earlier.

Two 47-foot Coast Guard boats were the first to respond to the yacht’s 10 a.m. Feb. 3 mayday call. But crew members quickly realized they couldn’t attempt a rescue by boat. The seas were far too rough, and if they got too close the waves might slam their vessels into the disabled yacht as they attempted to bring the man onboard. Instead, they tossed a life jacket on a weighted line to the man, the yacht’s sole occupant. He slipped it on.

Already on the way was a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter. On board were flight mechanics Joseph Ivy and Kyle Turcotte and pilots Tripp Haas and Will Sirokman. Then there was Walton, wearing flippers, a mask, snorkel and a dry suit.

Walton said he felt secure attempting the rescue because his four companions were all experienced instructors from his previous week of training, and all the skills he needed were still fresh in his mind.

“I knew I was in good hands,” Walton said. “I had an amazing crew.”

Around 10:40 a.m., the crew lowered Walton by cable into 20-foot swells where the Columbia meets the Pacific Ocean, an area dubbed the “Graveyard of the Pacific” for the many hundreds of boats sunk and lives lost over the centuries.

There, miles west of Astoria, bobbed the disabled 35-foot yacht.

Walton unclipped himself from the cable and then bolted toward the yacht. Within seconds, he was treading water, trying to persuade the man who was standing at the stern to jump toward him, he said. But just then a powerful wave was forming. The man pointed at it, and Walton ducked underwater in an attempt to avoid the churn. It’s a move often used by surfers to avoid the full force of breaking waves.

“The wave was pretty violent; there’s not much you can do other than just kind of ride it out,” said Walton, likening the experience to tumbling around in a washing machine.

When Walton surfaced, he regained his bearings and saw the man a ways off. His helicopter crew lowered the cable and hook. He clipped in, and they swiftly flew him over to the man’s new location.

“They did a fantastic job of swooping right in and dropping that hook down,” Walton said. “I hooked in, and they just put me right on top of him.”

Walton and the crew figure that before Walton ever got to him, the boat that gave the man a life jacket saved his life. Otherwise, he likely wouldn’t have resurfaced once the wave hit him.

Walton said the man was eager to be rescued.

“He asked ‘What do I do?’” Walton recounted. “And I yelled at him, I said ‘Nothing. Don’t do anything. Just breathe.’”

Walton slipped a sling around him, and the helicopter crew hoisted them both to safety.

Once on the chopper, the man put his hand to his forehead and caught his breath. After Walton and one of the flight mechanics handed him blankets, the man laid down on the aircraft’s floor and pulled them over his head. He gave a name they would later learn was fake, then didn’t say much of anything, Walton said.

Meanwhile, the flight mechanic congratulated Walton on his first rescue – lifting both his arms to offer Walton two high-fives. Coast Guard video shows a beaming Walton.

It was several hours later that authorities learned the man’s real name: Jericho Wolf Labonte. But that was after the helicopter landed, an ambulance rushed him to Astoria’s Columbia Memorial Hospital to be treated for mild hypothermia and the 35-year-old was released into the community on his own.

Police had been looking for Labonte since Feb. 1, after the owners of the famed house from the 1985 movie, “The Goonies,” reported that a man fitting Labonte’s description left a dead fish on their front porch and covered the lenses of their security cameras in stickers. An Astoria resident also had reported Labonte posted a video of himself on Facebook chanting lines from the movie and walking up to the porch to show the dead fish.

As local police delved into who Labonte was, they learned authorities in Victoria, British Columbia, had issued five warrants for his arrest for alleged crimes that include “harassment” and “mischief.”

After the Coast Guard pulled Labonte from the mouth of the Columbia on Feb. 3, they learned he’d also allegedly stolen the yacht, the “Sandpiper,” from the Port of Astoria.

Police found and arrested Labonte about nine hours after the rescue, at a homeless shelter in nearby Seaside. Clatsop County prosecutors plan to charge Labonte with various crimes – possibly boat theft, criminal mischief and endangering the life of Walton by prompting the rescue – but say they haven’t yet because he’s currently being held at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma.

For Walton, that’s all beside the point. He was there to do what he’d trained for – save lives.

Walton had moved to Oregon only last year from North Carolina. He wasn’t aware of the mouth of the Columbia’s morbid history. And before he enlisted in the Coast Guard right out of high school, he had trouble making it from one side of a pool to the other.

“Before I joined, I definitely needed some help,” Walton said. “I couldn’t swim 50 yards, really.”

Getting to the point of expert swimmer and rescuer took months of hard work in the water and the classroom.

Training to become a rescue swimmer is so rigorous only about half of those who attempt the certification pass, said Coast Guard spokesperson Diolanda Caballero.

Each month, swimmers must pass a physical fitness test that includes at least 50 push-ups, a 500-yard crawl stroke in less than 12 minutes, swimming underwater for 25 yards and towing “a buddy” across 200 yards of water.

They also must train to become emergency medical technicians.

After earning his initial certification, Walton enrolled in advanced rescue swimmer training along the Oregon coast, chosen because of its particularly unforgiving waters.

Over the course of five days, swimmers work with helicopter crews to practice plunging themselves into heavy surf and plucking each other out. They dangle along cliff faces to practice vertical rescues and sometimes even swim into sea caves to prepare for every possible scenario.

Brian Kirkendall is a fellow rescue swimmer and the lead instructor at Advanced Helicopter Rescue School, where Walton spent the week training before the Feb. 3 rescue. Kirkendall said despite the cloud created by Labonte’s alleged shenanigans, the rescue was an example of the Coast Guard holding true to one of its missions.

“It’s incredibly inspiring to see our next generation coming up, willing to put it all on the line for a complete stranger,” Kirkendall said, adding he didn’t care about Labonte’s backstory.

“If someone needs help,” he said, “we’ll bring them back.”

In 2022, the Coast Guard district covering Oregon and Washington responded to more than 600 calls for help on the water. Calls include those as minor as a mariner’s emergency distress beacon mistakenly going off to as major as another dramatic helicopter rescue that took place just last week, about 30 miles north of Astoria, near Willapa Bay, Washington. The Coast Guard pulled two soaked men from an inflatable rescue raft in the dark of night after their 46-foot crabbing vessel sunk, but a third man was lost at sea.

The Coast Guard is undergoing a historic lull in recruitment, amid a nationwide labor shortage. In response, it has lowered barriers to recruitment, including by raising the maximum enlistment age to 42. Coast Guard officials hope stories such as Walton’s inspire others to join.

After Walton plucked Labonte from the mouth of the Columbia, he texted his mom the video and then phoned her “because I didn’t think it was going to get out or anything.”

Walton cracks up as he recalls how his mom had some thoughts to share about her son swimming so precariously close to the yacht: “She just said, ‘Maybe be a little farther away from the boat next time.’”

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A Sea Rescue, a Stolen Boat and, Yes, a ‘Goonies’ Angle

The authorities in Oregon said a capsized boat was stolen by a man who had paid a visit to a nearby house made famous in “The Goonies.” The twists continued.

By Remy Tumin

When the Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment received a mayday call from a mariner in distress Friday morning, the agency went into full-rescue mode, deploying a 47-foot lifeboat, calling the aircrew of a Jayhawk helicopter and mobilizing multiple crews of the National Motor Lifeboat School who were conducting training nearby.

It would turn out that the man who needed saving would have some explaining to do if he made it safely to land.

The 35-foot boat was taking on water six miles off the coast of Astoria, Ore., near the mouth of the Columbia River in an area known as the Columbia Bar, which is frequently referred to as the Graveyard of the Pacific and is believed among mariners to be one of the most dangerous crossings in the world.

The Coast Guard reported conditions of 20-foot seas and extremely high wind speeds as a rescue swimmer, a student of the Advanced Helicopter Rescue School, was deployed into the water using a winch cable before swimming toward the sinking boat. Just as the rescuer made his approach, a breaking wave capsized the boat, throwing the mariner overboard. The rescue swimmer reached the mariner in the water, the Coast Guard said in a statement, and both were lifted up to the helicopter and transported to land.

Hours later, the swimmer, John Walton, known as Branch, an Aviation Survival Technician Third Class, graduated from training. It was the first time he saved a life, the Coast Guard said.

The dramatic rescue was all captured on video. But the drama did not stop there.

The rescued mariner, Jericho Labonte, had stolen the boat from a nearby marina in West Mooring Basin in Astoria, according to the police. And a few days before that, he left a dead fish on the steps of the house made famous by the 1985 film “The Goonies,” which follows the fantastical adventures of a group of children following an old treasure map.

Mr. Labonte filmed himself dropping the fish off at the house, calling out the movie’s signature line of “Hey, you guys!” and posted it to Facebook.

Mr. Labonte was arrested Friday night in Seaside, Ore., about 17 miles south of Astoria, on charges of theft, endangering another person, unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal mischief, the Astoria police said in a statement. But Mr. Labonte, who is originally from British Columbia, was also wanted by Canadian authorities on charges of mischief, criminal harassment and failure to comply, Chief Stacy Kelly of the Astoria Police Department told The New York Times on Sunday.

Chief Kelly said Mr. Labonte was in the custody of U.S. immigration officials for illegally crossing the border from Canada.

The small, commercial fishing town has never seen anything “this crazy,” the chief said. “Not one person causing so much mayhem. That’s for sure.”

Chief Kelly said it was unclear how long Mr. Labonte had been in the area, which is more than 90 miles northwest of Portland, but said the police received a phone call from a woman in Astoria alerting them to the fish video. The woman was “very concerned” to learn that Mr. Labonte was in town and “scared to death” that he was in the area, and she alerted the police to his previous criminal history.

When the Coast Guard released the video of the harrowing rescue, the head of port security for Astoria, Matt Hansen, recognized the boat and confirmed it was stolen, Chief Kelly said.

“The Columbia Bar is extremely dangerous under the best of conditions,” he said. “The fact he made it across the bar is miraculous.”

But by the time the video had been released, Mr. Labonte had left an area hospital and was at large. Another community member alerted the police when Mr. Labonte was seen at a warming center in town later that day. He was then arrested.

Chief Kelly attributed Mr. Labonte’s arrest to a large community effort.

Among the people who helped was Jeff Keightley, a charter boat captain in Astoria. Mr. Keightley took a man who called himself Philip Livingston out for a charter fishing trip on the morning of Feb. 1.

Mr. Keightley originally welcomed the off-season trip. But the man repeatedly asked Mr. Keightley to take him out to 3,000 feet, about 30 miles offshore where bottom fishing is impossible. He requested a captain’s hat and insisted on joining the commercial crabbing fleet, which were far offshore. When the man hooked a 27-inch lingcod, he was ready to go back to shore, which also surprised Mr. Keightley.

“The number of times I’ve gotten one fish and went back in — that was a new record,” Mr. Keightley said in an interview on Sunday.

When the Coast Guard video was released, Mr. Keightley’s girlfriend, Julianna Edmiston, who was a deckhand aboard the charter, recognized the man being rescued.

It was Mr. Labonte.

Mr. Keightley then realized that the gossip about a dead fish on the steps of the house in “The Goonies” was about the one caught on his boat.

“People often ask me about the weirdest thing that ever happened,” he said, recalling a time when a man was drunk during a sturgeon competition and jumped overboard. “This is way weirder.”

An earlier version of this article misidentified the location of Mr. Labonte’s arrest. It is Seaside, Ore., not Astoria, Ore.

How we handle corrections

Man saved by Coast Guard accused of stealing boat, leaving fish at 'Goonies' house

by KATU Staff

ASTORIA, Ore. — U.S. Coast Guard crews rescued a boater in distress just as his boat capsized in the surf near Cape Disappointment on Friday.

According to police in Astoria, that boater, 35-year-old Jericho Labonte, is accused of stealing the boat. He is also suspected of leaving a large dead fish on the porch of the "Goonies" house.

According to the Coast Guard, two aircrews were on a training mission at the mouth of the Columbia River when they got a “mayday” call from a boat that was “floundering in the surf."

A boat crew was also called out from the Coast Guard Station at Cape Disappointment; however, the surf made a boat rescue too dangerous.

USCG officials decided to lower the rescue swimmer, who was on his first rescue, and have Labonte enter the water.

Just as he jumped into the water, the vessel capsized. The rescue swimmer was able to safely get to Labonte, who was flown back to the Astoria Coast Guard Base for a medical evaluation.

He was released around 3:30 p.m., as authorities at that time did not know the boat was stolen.

Police were notified around 4 p.m. that the boat had been stolen from the Astoria Port.

Police found Labonte at a warming shelter in Seaside, where he had used a fake name. They arrested him at around 7:30 p.m.

Officers had been looking for him since Wednesday, when an acquaintance alerted them to a video he had posted on social media of himself leaving the fish at the Goonies house and then dancing around the property, said Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly.

Police said Labonte has five outstanding warrants in Victoria, British Columbia. Victoria police are sending officers to Oregon to question him.

The rescue swimmer, Petty Officer 1st Class Branch Walton, of Greenville, South Carolina, only recently graduated from the Coast Guard's rescue swimmer program.

Walton said in an interview Friday that he planned to reach the man, get him in the water and hook him to a cable attached to the helicopter. Instead, the wave hit.

“I kind of got thrown around a little bit by the wave. When I came up I noticed the boat was pretty much in shambles," Walton said.

He directed the helicopter to bring him to Labonte after spotting him in the surf a short distance away. The force of the wave had mostly knocked off his life jacket, Walton said.

The Associated Press contributed.

Arrest made in stolen yacht rescue, 'Goonies' fish incident

SEATTLE (AP) — A stolen yacht. A dramatic Coast Guard rescue . A dead fish. And the famed home featured in the classic 1985 film “The Goonies.”

Combined, Oregon police called it a series of “really odd” events along the Pacific Northwest coast spanning 48 hours that concluded Friday night with the arrest of a Canadian man.

Jericho Wolf Labonte, 35, of Victoria, British Columbia, was taken into custody in the northwestern Oregon resort town of Seaside, police said in a news release.

He'd been pulled from the ocean hours earlier by a Coast Guard swimmer, just after the yacht he was piloting capsized amid high waves. He was briefly hospitalized for mild hypothermia.

(1/4) #BreakingNews - Talk about arriving in the nick of time! While conducting a training mission at the mouth of the Columbia River, 2 Coast Guard air crews received a #MAYDAY broadcast from the master of the P/C Sandpiper. After notifying watchstanders at Sector Columbia River pic.twitter.com/CtYSgpdPUG — USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) February 3, 2023

Labonte was discharged before authorities in nearby Astoria, Oregon, saw the rescue video and said they recognized him as the same person who covered over security cameras at the “Goonies” house and left the fish on the porch.

Police in Seaside, about 17 miles south of Astoria, said they found Labonte on Friday evening at a homeless shelter where he was staying “under an alias,” and arrested him on charges of theft, criminal mischief, endangering another person and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

He's also wanted in Canada for “other cases,” Seaside police said.

It wasn’t immediately clear Sunday whether Labonte had an attorney who could comment on his behalf.

“It’s been a really odd 48 hours,” Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly said Friday.

Police had been looking for Labonte since Wednesday, when an acquaintance alerted them to a video Labonte posted on social media of himself leaving a dead fish at the “Goonies” house and dancing around the property, Kelly said. The Victorian home was recently sold to a fan of the film , after being listed for $1.7 million.

Friday afternoon, before Labonte's arrest, the Coast Guard shared stunning video of the rescue by Petty Officer 1st Class Branch Walton, a newly minted rescue swimmer from Greenville, South Carolina.

The 35-foot (11-meter) yacht had been reported stolen by its owner Friday afternoon. As the swimmer approached, a large wave slammed into the vessel, rolling it over and throwing a man, later identified as Labonte, into the water.

The mouth of the Columbia, the largest North American river flowing into the Pacific Ocean, is known as “the graveyard of the Pacific” for its notoriously rough seas.

Man Left Dead Fish at ‘Goonies’ House, Then Had to Be Rescued After Capsizing Stolen Yacht

The P/C Sandpiper capsizes near the mouth of the Columbia River, Astoria, Ore. Photo: screenshot

Police said one man was responsible for a “very unique” crime spree in Astoria, Oregon recently.

Jericho Labonte landed in jail after capsizing a stolen $160,000 yacht on Friday. He then gave first responders and hospital workers a fake name, according to police. His adopted alias briefly functioned to conceal his previous alleged crime: placing a dead fish on the front steps of the house seen in the cult-classic film The Goonies .

In the end, Labonte didn’t get away with any of the chicanery, but his series of odd decisions did earn him some notoriety. Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly described the rash of activity to The Oregonian as “very unique.”

Kelly told the outlet his department first became aware of Labonte’s activities in Astoria on Feb. 1. That day, the 35-year-old allegedly appeared on video while placing stickers over security cameras at the Hollywood-famous house, The Oregonian said.

Police then logged a phone call from a concerned citizen , who informed them Labonte had posted a video to Facebook that showed the fish. Footage shared by KGW News shows the moment the fish was deposited on the porch.

After receiving the tip, police learned authorities in Victoria, British Columbia, had previously issued five warrants for Labonte’s arrest. Alleged crimes included “harassment” and “mischief.”

Labonte’s Facebook account says he lives in Victoria — where a wanted bulletin states “he may post a risk to public safety. If you see Jericho Labonte, do not approach him and call 911.”

By the morning of Friday, Feb. 3, someone had swiped a pricey private yacht from the Astoria Port and was gunning it into rough seas at the mouth of the Columbia River. Coast Guard authorities told The Oregonian they were conducting a training exercise nearby when a frazzled mayday call came in over the radio.

The voice they heard allegedly belonged to Labonte.

A Coast Guard helicopter and several 47-foot rescue boats arrived about 40 minutes after Labonte’s call. There, they found a dire situation in heavy seas: the 35-foot yacht, the P/C Sandpiper , was taking on water amid 20-foot waves.

Video footage shows the boat capsizing just as a Coast Guard rescue swimmer reaches it. Swimmer John “Branch” Walton was new to the job, but he managed to get a sling around himself and Labonte as they both floated adrift.

Rescuers told The Oregonian the man’s initial reticence to give them personal details didn’t alarm them. They thought he registered as a relatively normal individual in distress. Sometimes people don’t provide their names right after traumatic events, they said.

“He was not very conversational, but he did go through a life-and-death experience,” a Coast Guard spokesperson said, adding that Labonte had thought he’d hit his head as the wave washed him overboard.

Shuttled to the hospital, Labonte allegedly continued to misreport his identity. According to police, Columbia Memorial Hospital staff treated him for hypothermia, then released him under the alias.

But a photo posted to the Coast Guard’s Twitter account soon led to his capture. In it, first responders carry a disheveled Labonte away from the rescue helicopter.

(3/4) As he entered the water the vessel capsized but the rescue swimmer was able to safely recover the individual. He was flown back to Coast Guard Base Astoria where EMS was waiting to evaluate and treat the man. pic.twitter.com/woJ72rkFz7 — USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) February 3, 2023

Several residents who’d seen the Facebook video at the Goonies house recognized him as the man in the Coast Guard photo and contacted the Astoria police. Around the same time, Astoria Port Security Chief Matt Hansen contacted the department to say he’d watched the rescue video and recognized the yacht, which belonged to a man from Warrenton, Oregon. Hansen had spoken to the owner and confirmed it was stolen.

Police arrested Labonte at a short-term homeless center in the town of Seaside by 8 p.m. Friday — again using a fake name.

Authorities booked Labonte into the Clatsop County Jail, where he awaits a slew of potential charges. Theft and unauthorized use of the yacht, endangering the life of the rescue swimmer, and criminal mischief for his fishy activities at the “Goonies” are all charges on the table.

“I’ve been doing this (work) for over 22 years,” said Police Chief Kelly. “and this was definitely the most interesting 48 hours I’ve ever had.”

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Watch: Fugitive from Victoria rescued by U.S. Coast Guard after stolen yacht flips

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A wild story involving a dead fish, a cult movie, a boat theft and a death-defying rescue at sea has culminated in a wanted Victoria man being locked up in Oregon.

It all started Wednesday, about 6 p.m., when Astoria police received a call from a concerned citizen telling them that Jericho Wolf Labonte had posted a disturbing video on his Facebook page showing him putting a dead fish on the porch of The Goonies house, Police Chief Stacy Kelly said Saturday.

The house, where the 1985 movie The Goonies was filmed, has become an unofficial tourist attraction in a residential neighbourhood, Kelly said.

“People live there. It’s not a museum. However, we get visitors constantly who go up there, take pictures in front of it. … It’s like the movie that doesn’t die,” Kelly said. “It has quite the following.”

Labonte put the fish on the porch, covered the security cameras with stickers, then danced around the property and the property next door, “just acting really odd,” said Kelly.

Police began looking for Labonte to arrest him and charge him with criminal mischief.

Then Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest posted videos on Twitter of an amazing rescue. The posts said two air crews were on a training mission at the mouth of the Columbia River when they received a mayday call from a yacht, floundering in the surf.

Lifeboats were launched but the ocean swells made it too dangerous to attempt a rescue. So the air crew lowered a swimmer by cable to rescue a man on board.

As the swimmer neared the vessel it was struck by a 10-metre wave. The boat rolled over, throwing the man into the rough sea. The swimmer pulled the man to safety and he was flown to Coast Guard Base Astoria, where paramedics were waiting to take him to hospital.

When the Port of Astoria security chief saw the videos, he recognized the $160,000 yacht and contacted the owner to let him know it had been stolen, said Kelly. The security chief also called police, who saw the video, recognized Labonte and put it all together.

Police called the coast guard and found out that Labonte had already been discharged from hospital.

Later Friday evening, police received a report that Labonte was at a warming shelter for the homeless in Seaside. Seaside police, Oregon State police and Clatsop County Sheriff found him and took him into custody.

On Jan. 19, Victoria police issued a public alert for Labonte, who is wanted B.C.-wide on charges of criminal harassment, mischief and three breaches.

“It is believed that Jericho Labonte is travelling to the Victoria area and that he may pose a risk to public safety. If you see Jericho Labonte, do not approach him and call 911,” said the alert.

Kelly said he didn’t know if Labonte would be handed over to Canadian authorities.

The U.S. Coast Guard contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement and they are “very interested in him because he is in our country illegally. He did not enter through a port correctly,” said Kelly. “They actually have a history on him. They know where he enters and how he enters so they were very interested in getting hold of him.”

Police have reports that the boat broke apart. Pieces have washed up on a beach in Washington, directly across from Astoria.

Astoria police are charging Labonte with theft, endangering another person, unauthorized use of the vessel, in addition to criminal mischief relating to the dead fish.

“It’s been one crazy couple of days,” said the police chief. “It’s been non-stop and it’s a crazy story. … We’ll deal with it.”

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Coast Guard rescues wanted man seconds before massive wave capsizes boat, video shows

Man rescued by coast guard in washington was wanted for leaving a dead fish at the oregon home from 'the goonies'.

Coast Guard rescues wanted man seconds before massive wave capsizes boat

The Coast Guard pulled a man into the mouth of the Columbia River in Washington just moments before his boat was capsized by a wave, before airlifting the man to safety. The man was wanted in connection with an incident in Astoria, Oregon. (U.S. Coast Guard)

Members of the U.S. Coast Guard rescued a man from the mouth of the Columbia River on Friday after the yacht he was on was rolled by a massive wave. 

Police had been looking for 35-year-old Jericho Labonte since Wednesday after authorities said he left a dead fish at the Astoria, Oregon, home featured in the in 1985 classic film, "The Goonies."  

According to Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly, an acquaintance alerted the authorities to a video he posted on social media of himself leaving the fish at the house and then dancing around the property. It is believed that the fish was caught locally because a person reported having taken him fishing.

Kelly explained that Labonte, of Victoria, British Columbia, is also wanted in British Columbia on criminal harassment, mischief and failure to comply cases from last fall.

Videos and images posted to the Coast Guard's social media accounts showed the daring rescue, during which the agency said two Coast Guard air crews had received a mayday broadcast from the P/C Sandpiper. Petty Officer Michael Clark said the call came in at around 10 a.m. local time.

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FILE - The house featured in the Steven Spielberg film "The Goonies" is viewed in Astoria, Oregon, May 24, 2001.  (AP Photo/Stepanie Firth, File)

"After notifying watchstanders at Sector Columbia River who launched motor life boats from STA Cape Disappointment, the air crews arrived on scene to find the vessel floundering in the surf! The surf made rescue by boat dangerous, so the aircrew decided to lower the rescue swimmer and have the owner enter the water for rescue," the Coast Guard in the Pacific Northwest tweeted. 

In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer reaches a boat right before a giant wave rolled the craft at the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023. The newly minted Coast Guard rescue swimmer saved the life of a man who was piloting the yacht.  (AET1 Kyle Turcotte/U.S Coast Guard Pacific Northwest via AP)

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In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest, a Coast Guard ship, left, attempts to a rescue a distressed yacht at the mouth of the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington state on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023.  (AET1 Kyle Turcotte/U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest via AP)

As Labonte entered the water, the vessel capsized, but the rescue swimmer – Petty Officer 1st Class Branch Walton, of Greenville, South Carolina – was able to safely recover him. After the incident, he was flown back to Coast Guard Base Astoria where EMS was waiting to evaluate and treat him for mild hypothermia. 

In this photo provided by the U.S Coast Guard Pacific Northwest, Coast Guard personnel help carry a swimmer from a rescue helicopter after he was rescued from the mouth of the Columbia River after his boat was capsized by a giant wave on Friday, Feb. 3, 2023, at Coast Guard Base Astoria, Oregon.  (AET1 Kyle Turcotte/U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest via AP)

Labonte was transported to a hospital, and the facility had already released Labonte when they saw the videos and photos from the Coast Guard. Police were still looking for Labonte on Friday night and the yacht's owner reported the vessel stolen on Friday. 

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"It’s been a really odd 48 hours," Kelly said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

Julia Musto is a reporter for Fox News and Fox Business Digital. 

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Dramatic Moment Coast Guard Rescues Man Accused of Stealing Yacht After Leaving Dead Fish at 'Goonies' House

Man saved after leaving dead fish at 'goonies' house: cops, personal shopper says he was falsely accused of stealing, tributes pour in for baseball legend willie mays, jennifer lopez and ben affleck sell $60m california home amid divorce rumors, did trump have a crush on 'will & grace' star debra messing, karen read, accused of killing cop boyfriend, speaks out, justin timberlake's arresting officer didn't know who he was: report, pennsylvania cemetery creatively lets mourners talk to loved ones, environmental activists use orange paint to vandalize stonehenge, car crashes into police car in the middle of empty highway, baseball hall of famer willie mays dead at 93, strange monolith spotted outside of las vegas, riley strain died from drowning and intoxication: autopsy, family discovers creepy crawler surprise on their house, could 3d-printed homes be the answer to kenya's housing crisis, some unlicensed dentists are performing illegal veneer procedures, white house calls misleading videos of president biden 'cheap fakes', celine dion tearfully thanks her fans at film premiere, retired us sheriff's deputy goes missing in greece, plastic surgeon charged in death of wife, justin timberlake charged with driving while intoxicated, the coast guard immediately dispatched members of its national motor lifeboat school who had been training nearby, the crew of a jayhawk helicopter, and a rescue boat..

A routine Coast Guard training mission turned into a dramatic rescue at sea and an even more dramatic arrest over the weekend.

It all happened on Friday off the coast of Oregon when a "Mayday" call came in from a nearby yacht.

The Coast Guard immediately dispatched members of its National Motor Lifeboat School who had been training nearby, the crew of a Jayhawk helicopter, and a rescue boat.

Footage shows that moment that Aviation Survival Technician 3rd Class John “Branch” Walton, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer in training, got just a few lengths from the vessel only to watch a massive wave topple the boat.

Lt. Will Sirokman was piloting the helicopter tasked with making the rescue as the rough waters made it too difficult for a boat to complete the mission.

"That rogue wave came in, and you know the boat look like it was a little bath toy," Lt. Sirokman tells Inside Edition. "As it turns out, we were there just in the nick of time."

The "Mayday" mariner was later identified as Jericho Labonte.

The rescue is just the start of the story however, because soon after receiving medical treatment, Labonte found himself in handcuffs.

A brief manhunt broke out after it was discovered Labonte checked out of the hospital before a warrant could be obtained for his arrest, says the Astoria Police Department . He was apprehended a short time later and is now in custody.

Labonte is accused of stealing the yacht just days after cops say he put a dead fish on the porch of the Oregon house that was made famous in the "Goonies" film.

"No idea," says Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly when asked about a possible motive.

"He did confess to taking the vessel, leaving the fish," Kelly adds.

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Man who was saved by Coast Guard during harrowing rescue stole the yacht he was piloting, Astoria police say

• Updated: Jan. 03, 2024, 2:36 p.m. |
• Published: Feb. 03, 2023, 4:38 p.m.

In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer reaches a boat right before a giant wave rolled the craft at the mouth of the Columbia River. The newly minted Coast Guard rescue swimmer saved the life of a man who was piloting the yacht. (Turcotte/U.S Coast Guard via AP) AP

• The Associated Press

A newly minted Coast Guard rescue swimmer saved a man’s life Friday at the mouth of the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington state just after a giant wave rolled the yacht he was piloting and threw him into the surf.

In an odd twist to the heroic story, Astoria police said Friday evening that the man who was rescued stole the yacht .

• Police arrest man they say left dead fish at Astoria’s ‘Goonies’ house, stole yacht and prompted harrowing Coast Guard rescue

Video from a Coast Guard helicopter captured part of the dramatic save. Petty Officer Michael Clark says the agency received a mayday call at about 10 a.m., with no additional information.

The agency was able to triangulate roughly where the call was coming from, and Coast Guard crews on vessels and in a helicopter who happened to be training nearby responded. They found the 35-feet yacht, the P/C Sandpiper, taking on water in 20-foot seas — meaning the height of a wave from the previous trough could be as much as 40 feet, Clark said.

The rescue swimmer — who was on his first rescue just after graduating from the Coast Guard’s rescue swimmer program — was lowered from the helicopter by a cable. As he neared the vessel, the man on board climbed onto the stern, preparing to get into the water.

But just then a huge wave slammed the boat, throwing him into the surf. The wave struck so violently that the vessel rolled completely over and wound up floating upright.

The swimmer managed to locate the man in the surf and pulled him to safety aboard the MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter. The crew brought him to Coast Guard Base Astoria, where medics treated him for mild hypothermia.

“It’s a bit of a christening for a new rescue swimmer,” Clark said.

The swimmer’s name was not immediately released. Astoria police identified the man who was rescued as Jericho Labonte, 35. He is wanted by Canadian police and, after today’s incident, by Astoria police for allegedly stealing the yacht, said Astoria police chief Stacy Kelly.

The mouth of the Columbia, the largest North American river that flows into the Pacific Ocean, has such notoriously rough seas that it is known as “the graveyard of the Pacific.”

In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest, a Coast Guard ship, left, attempts to a rescue a distressed yacht at the mouth of the Columbia River . A newly minted Coast Guard rescue swimmer saved the life of a man who was piloting the yacht. ( Kyle Turcotte/U.S. Coast Guard via AP) AP

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• water rescue

Man wanted for leaving a dead fish at 'The Goonies' house saved by Coast Guard in daring rescue

Petty first class John Branch Walton discovered Jericho Labonte was a wanted man and the boat had been stolen.

ASTORIA, Ore. -- A man wanted by police in Oregon in a bizarre incident at a house featured in "The Goonies" was the subject of a daring Coast Guard rescue when he was tossed from a stolen boat as it capsized, authorities said.

On Wednesday, police in Astoria, Oregon, received a report that a man had left a dead fish on the porch of the house used in the "The Goonies," police said in a news release. The 1985 comedy adventure was based on a story by Steven Spielberg.

CNN affiliate KGW reported that surveillance video at the house showed the man laying the fish on the porch and making a cell phone video of it before walking away. Police searched two days for the man, identified as 35-year-old Jericho Labonte.

On Friday morning, the Coast Guard received a mayday broadcast from a man piloting a boat at the mouth of the Columbia River, the agency said in a series of tweets.

Coast Guard video showed two helicopters arriving to find the boat being tossed by waves, the Coast Guard said on Twitter.

"The surf made rescue by boat dangerous, so the aircrew decided to lower the rescue swimmer and have the owner enter the water for rescue," the tweet said.

Video shot from a helicopter showed the rescue swimmer approaching the boat when a wave struck the vessel and caused it to capsize. The man was thrown into the water but the rescue swimmer reached the man and the two of them were lifted into a helicopter.

"Talk about arriving in the nick of time!" the Coast Guard tweeted.

The Coast Guard didn't name the rescued man but posted a photo of him being carried out of the helicopter. He was taken to a hospital in Astoria, treated and discharged.

After images of the water rescue aired, police said they received a call from the Astoria port security chief saying the vessel in the rescue had been stolen earlier in the day.

"At about the same time, we received calls from several citizens identifying the rescued victim as Labonte," the police news release said.

After a brief search and asking the public for its assistance, Labonte was arrested Friday night at a warming center in Seaside, about 17 miles to the south, according to Astoria police. The exact charges were not immediately known.

CNN is working to determine whether Labonte has an attorney.

Police said he was wanted on charges of theft, endangering another person, unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal mischief.

Police in Victoria, Canada, had tweeted that Labonte is wanted on warrants for criminal harassment, mischief and fail to comply.

(The-CNN-Wire & 2022 Cable News Network, Inc., a Time Warner Company. All rights reserved.)

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A Canadian man left dead fish at the famed 'Goonies' house, stole a boat, and had to be rescued by the Coast Guard, authorities say

• The US Coast Guard rescued a man as the ship he was on capsized on Friday. 
• Jericho Labonte was on a stolen ship and was also wanted in connection with dead fish left on the porch of the "Goonies" house. 
• He was also wanted on warrants in Canada. 

The US Coast Guard rescued a man from a stolen boat that almost capsized only to learn that he was the same man suspected of leaving a dead fish on the porch of the "Goonies" house in Astoria, Oregon, police said. 

—USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) February 3, 2023

In a series of tweets, the Coast Guard said they were conducting a training mission at the mouth of the Columbia River when two aircrews received a mayday call from a boat named Sandpiper. The video shows the boat was in the middle of the surf just floating back and forth on Friday morning. 

Since the conditions were so bad, boats could not be sent in to rescue the man. Instead, the Coast Guard said aircrews decided to lower a rescue swimmer and have the man on board jump into the water. The boat capsized right as the man on the boat entered the water. According to the Coast Guard, the on-scene conditions were "20-foot seas and extremely high windspeeds."

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"As he entered the water the vessel capsized but the rescue swimmer was able to safely recover the individual. He was flown back to Coast Guard Base Astoria where EMS was waiting to evaluate and treat the man," the Coast Guard said . 

Local station KPTV reported that police in Astoria, Oregon, arrested the man, identified as 35-year-old Jericho Labonte of Canada, later that night.

Two days before the Coast Guard rescued Labonte, police said they received a call about the dead fish incident. Labonte had been caught on surveillance footage two days prior to the rescue leaving a dead fish on the porch of the house made famous from the cult classic film "The Goonies," Astoria police said in a statement .

Labonte also appeared to have videotaped himself as he left the dead fish on the porch and uploaded it to his Facebook. The surveillance footage was shared with local station KGW and appears to show a man also trying to cover the security cameras with stickers. 

On Friday, after Labonte has been discharged from the hospital, the police received a call from Port Security Chief Matt Hansen that the ship that was involved in the rescue was stolen. 

"He recognized the vessel on the video, contacted the owner, and confirmed that it had been stolen. At about the same time, we received calls from several citizens identifying the rescued victim as Labonte," the police said. 

Police said Labonte was wanted on charges of Theft I, Endangering Another Person, Unauthorized Use of a Vehicle, and Criminal Mischief II, and was later found and arrested at a warming center on Friday night. 

Labonte is also wanted in Canada on warrants for criminal harassment, mischief, and failure to comply, the Victoria police department shared in a tweet . 

• Main content

Arrested: 35-year-old man rescued by Coast Guard from capsized boat, wanted by Canadian police

ASTORIA Ore. (KPTV) - A 35-year-old man who was rescued Friday morning by the U.S. Coast Guard after a stolen boat capsized in the Columbia River mouth was arrested Friday evening, according to Astoria police.

At about 1 p.m., the Coast Guard shared the dramatic rescue story on Twitter: they’d received a “Mayday” broadcast from a boat floundering in the waves, near where two Coast Guard air crews were on a training mission. The man on the boat, the P/C Sandpiper, was later identified as Jericho Labonte.

The crews immediately notified authorities at Cape Disappointment, who launched rescue boats.

SEE ALSO: Hwy 26 closed near Buxton due to deadly crash

(2/4)…who launched motor life boats from STA Cape Disappointment, the air crews arrived on scene to find the vessel floundering in the surf! The surf made rescue by boat dangerous, so the aircrew decided to lower the rescue swimmer and have the owner enter the water for rescue… pic.twitter.com/z92WvzpTG9 — USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) February 3, 2023

When the Coast Guard crews arrived, they realized the surf would make rescue by boat dangerous and decided to lower a rescue swimmer to meet Labonte in the water.

Meanwhile, for 22-year-old Petty Officer John “Branch” Walton, this was his first water rescue mission.

”We got the mayday call in the classroom and played rock, paper, scissors for which swimmer got to go,” Walton said.

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After being lowered into the waves, Walton swam for the boat. But before Labonte could join him in the water, a towering wave at least 30 feet high rose overhead.

”He kind of pointed and that’s when I saw the big wave and I didn’t think it was going to do what it did to the boat,” Walton said. “I realized at the point he was going to have to take a ride on the boat.”

Walton ducked under the surface, hoping to swim beneath the cresting wave.

“Um, which didn’t work too well,” Walton said.

[Article continues below image]

As the wave crashed down, it flipped the boat over, rolling it in the surf.

Walton said it felt like he was in a washing machine.

Labonte was tossed into the ocean, but when Walton surfaced again, he found Labonte and helped get him into the rescue helicopter.

“It was definitely an amazing experience and I’d like to do it again,” Walton said.

The helicopter carried Labonte and the rescue crews to the Coast Guard base in Astoria where emergency medical responders were waiting to treat him.

SEE ALSO: FOX 12′s Wayne Garcia got an up close look at how hard these Coast Guard crews train for rescues just like this one

Because authorities were not aware yet aware of his identity, Labonte was discharged and allowed to leave the hospital where he was treated for minor injuries.

At about 3 p.m., police determined that the capsized boat, the P/C Sandpiper, had been stolen out of the Port of Astoria. Also at some point on Friday, police identified Labonte as wanted by police in Victoria, British Columbia, for criminal harassment, mischief, and failure to comply with officers.

And, he was also identified as the man caught on security footage putting a fish on the porch of ‘The Goonies’ house.

VicPD asking for public's assistance in locating wanted man Jericho Labonte. He is wanted on warrants for criminal harassment, mischief and fail to comply x 3. He may be travelling to Victoria and could pose a risk to public safety. If seen, do not approach and call 911. pic.twitter.com/gDXFDKFUk9 — Victoria Police (@vicpdcanada) January 20, 2023

As local law enforcement began to search for him, police said Canadian Border Control were on their way to assist with the search.

Police said Labonte was found around 7:30 p.m. at the Seaside Helping Hands Warming Shelter where he was staying under an alias.

Labonte was arrested without incident, and along with the charges he is facing in Canada, Labonte was additionally charged with theft, endangering another person, criminal mischief and unauthorized use of a vehicle.

According to Seaside police, Labonte was immediately taken into custody by the U.S. Coast Guard and placed at an ICE facility in Washington state, where his extradition back to Canada would be arranged.

Check back for updates as more information becomes available.

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