A man rescued by a Coast Guard lifeguard near the Columbia River on Friday was wanted over a bizarre incident in which police say he left a dead fish at the Oregon home featured in the classic film ‘The Goonies” was featured.
Officers had been searching for the man since Wednesday, when an acquaintance drew their attention to a video he posted to social media of him leaving the fish inside the house and then dancing around the property, Police Chief of Police Stacy Kelly said Astoria.
Kelly identified the man as Jericho Labonte, 35, of Victoria, British Columbia. Labonte is also wanted in British Columbia for criminal harassment, mischief and noncompliance with cases from last fall, Kelly said.
In the afternoon, the Coast Guard shared stunning video of a rescue made a few hours earlier, in which a lifeguard, lowered from a helicopter with a cable, swam to a 35-foot yacht struggling in heavy surf.
As the swimmer approached the ship, a large wave smashed in, overturning the boat and throwing a man, later identified as Labonte, into the water.
A man rescued by a Coast Guard lifeguard near the Columbia River on Friday was wanted over a bizarre incident in which police say he left a dead fish at the Oregon home featured in the classic film The Goonies ‘ was seen.
The swimmer, Petty Officer 1st Class Branch Walton of Greenville, South Carolina, reached Labonte and carried him to safety. The helicopter crew flew him to the Astoria Coast Guard, where paramedics treated him for mild hypothermia and took him to a hospital.
The yacht’s owner, who lives in nearby Warrenton, Oregon, later reported the vessel stolen, the police chief said.
The hospital had already released Labonte when police saw the Coast Guard photos and video and realized it was the same person they said covered the security cameras at the Goonies’ home and left the dead fish on the porch.
Police were still looking for Labonte as of Friday night.
Kelly didn’t know what type of fish it was, but police believe it was caught locally because another person reported fishing with Labonte after the video began spreading.
“It’s been a really weird 48 hours,” Kelly said.
The mouth of the Columbia, North America’s largest river that empties into the Pacific Ocean, is known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific” for its notoriously rough seas.
Jericho Labonte, 35, of Victoria, British Columbia, has been identified as the man who was rescued. Labonte is also wanted in British Columbia for criminal harassment, mischief and noncompliance with cases from last fall, Kelly said
As the swimmer approached the ship, a large wave smashed in, overturning the boat and throwing a man, later identified as Labonte, into the water
The swimmer, Petty Officer 1st Class Branch Walton of Greenville, South Carolina, reached Labonte and carried him to safety. The helicopter crew flew him to the Astoria Coast Guard, where paramedics treated him for mild hypothermia and took him to a hospital
(2/4) …the STA Cape Disappointment motor lifeboats were lowered, the flight crews arrived and found the ship wriggling in the surf! The surf made the boat rescue dangerous, so the flight crew decided to lower the lifeguard and let the owner climb into the water to the rescue… pic.twitter.com/z92WvzpTG9
— USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) February 3, 2023
The Coast Guard received the yacht’s distress call around 10 a.m. Friday while conducting training nearby, Petty Officer Michael Clark said.
The mayday contained no information about the location or the specific problem, but the agency roughly triangulated the location of the ship and nearby boat crews and a helicopter responded.
They found the P/C Sandpiper yacht took on water in 20-foot seas, meaning the height of a wave from the previous trough could be as high as 40 feet, Clark said.
Walton, who had just graduated from the Coast Guard lifeguard program, was lowered from the helicopter by cable. Labonte climbed onto the stern and was preparing to enter the water when a huge wave slammed into the craft, throwing it into the surf.
The wave hit so hard that the ship completely overturned and floated upright.
The mouth of the Columbia, North America’s largest river that empties into the Pacific Ocean, is known as the “Graveyard of the Pacific” for its notoriously rough seas
The mayday contained no information about the location or the specific problem, but the agency roughly triangulated the location of the ship and nearby boat crews and a helicopter responded
Officers had been searching for Labonte since Wednesday, when an acquaintance alerted them to a video he posted to social media of him leaving the fish inside the house and then dancing around the property, Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly said
Walton said in an interview Friday that he plans to reach the man, put him in the water and hang him from a cable attached to the helicopter. Instead, the wave struck.
“I was thrown around a bit by the wave. When I came up I noticed the boat was pretty much in ruins,’ said Walton.
He ordered the helicopter to take him to Labonte after spotting him in the surf a short distance away. The force of the wave ripped off most of his life jacket, Walton said.
A Kansas City entrepreneur and self-proclaimed superfan of the 1985 cult classic bought the Oregon home made famous by the film in January.
Behman Zakeri, 37, bought the $1.65 million Astoria, Oregon property to keep as a shrine to the beloved family film.
“The reason I’m buying it is for the community,” Zakeri said. “Someone has to be the caretaker, someone has to preserve the landmark. Someone has to keep it original and not be shown.’