Coast Guard Recovers Person from Search Area

A Coast Guard helicopter crew located and recovered a person from the water in the search area of the sunken tug Primo Brusco 27 nautical miles northwest off Florence, Ore. The man, who was wearing an immersion-type suit, exhibited no vital signs and was transported aboard the helicopter back to Coast Guard Air Station North Bend. The man's identity is being determined by the Coos Bay coroner. The Coast Guard has suspended the search. Coast Guard Capt. Darrell Folsom, commander of search and rescue operations, has contacted the family of the missing mariner. In the early hours of Monday morning, the tug Primo Brusco sank 20 miles west of Florence, Ore. A Coast Guard helicopter crew rescued four of the five men who abandoned ship. Rescued were: Dennis Coolie, Mitch Russes, Chris Peterson and Mike Jensen. The missing man was identified as Monte Nelson. The search for Nelson involved Coast Guard 47-foot rescue boats from Station Umpqua/Siuslaw River, a fixed-wing C-130 aircraft from Air Station Sacramento, Calif., helicopters from Coast Guard Air Stations North Bend, Astoria and Los Angeles. In addition, the tug Jack Brusco assisted in the massive search effort. Rescuers searched an area approximately the size of Marion County, Ore., at 1,200 square miles. Prior to its sinking, the Primo Brusco was towing a barge loaded with logs, which was recovered today at 8 a.m. and transported to Coos Bay, Ore.