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Captain arrested after Mexico ship capsize, victim's kin says
Held in connection with sinking of fishing boat in Sea of Cortez; seven still missing

NBC News | MSNBC.com
Wednesday 7/6/2011 8:38:39 PM ET

LOS ANGELES — The captain of the fishing boat that capsized over the weekend in the Sea of Cortez has been arrested in connection with the sinking of his ship, the son-in-law of one of the missing passengers said.

Fredrick Han said Mexican police boarded the boat Saturday night before it left port and told the captain, but not the passengers, that he was not allowed to leave the dock that night because of the storm, NBC station KNBC reported.
Story: Missing Americans in boat sinking likely dead, official says

Han's father-in-law, Don Lee, is among the seven men who are still missing. There is hope he and the other six could still be alive because the water along Baja is 80 degrees, which would fend off hypothermia and increase the chances someone could still be alive.

Baja Sportfishing runs the fishing trip. The company sent an email Wednesday saying, "We are devastated by this horrible tragedy. Every effort is being made to assist the authorities in the search. Our thoughts and prayers continue to be with the families."

The 115-foot boat, the Erik, capsized and sank in a storm, throwing the more than 40 people on board into the sea.

Survivors are telling harrowing stories of clinging to coolers and life boats for 16 hours after the boat sank. Most suffered cuts, bruises and a bad sunburn from their time at sea. A few said they found ice chips and Hershey Kisses inside of a cooler and that helped keep them hydrated and alert during the hours afloat.

Leslie Yee, from the Central Valley town of Ceres, has been confirmed dead, and seven other men remain missing.

A Coast Guard C-130 from Sacramento joined the Mexican Navy Wednesday in the search for the missing, TV station KCRA said.

The group was from various Bay Area cities on an annual Fourth of July fishing trip.

Well, the captain having been told not to leave the dock by local authorities certainly puts a whole new spin on things!

I've said it before. We Americans have to play the blame game. As a culture, we view things in absolute terms. There is no such thing as an accident. Here we go again, despite the fact that this particular ship has plied the waters of the SOC for years apparently without incident.

It kinda reminds me of the hue and cry that boiled up with the Casey Anthony not guilty verdict. The public is out for blood because they were continually provided character assasination about Casey.

They totally overlook that the system of justice actually worked. The jury concluded that Casey was not guitly, because the prosecution case did not prove her guilt beyond a shadow of reasonable doubt.

This was not a civil trial that requires "the preponderance of the evidence". Totally different.

She may well not be innocent in this matter, but our criminal justice system did not ask the jurors to decide on that issue.

My long term take on this is that Casey will have to live with her knowledge of what happened, however complete her persoanl knowledge may be.

I'm reminded of the OJ trial, where there actually was forensic evidence that he was guilty, but owing to a masterful and highly compensated defense team, was somehow overlooked, especially given his celebrity status.

I gotta give props to Casey's attorney, who obviously was not making the foturne that the OJ team did.

But, as a believer in karma, just think where our buddy OJ is right now!

I agree with every thing Wood said. It is refreshing th see that the criminal justice system actually works. Too often people are convicted in the court of public opinion.

Originally Posted by Bajahowodd

But, as a believer in karma, just think where our buddy OJ is right now!

I don't think that qualifies as karma. He had to earn his time with a new set of atrocities and still owes for the murders.

True to a certain extent, and yet, behind bars is behind bars.

Maybe this piece of mierda may eventually admit to what he did. Wishful thinking, perhaps, but wouldn't it be refreshing.

And, so as not to link Casey Anthony to OJ too effectively, we must understand that unlike the OJ trial, where there was seemingly sufficient forensic evidence to nail the bastard, in the case of Casey Anthony, not only wasn't there any forensic evidence, but at the end of the day, the prosecutor could not even provide the cause of death.

I'm new to this site and I've been fishing on the Erik twice in the past . I stopped going on this ship due to the Owner and Crew being very unprofessional. Now hearing that the Captain was told not to leave the port due to a storm and he leaves anyway? Sorry but this does not surprise me at all, the fact that there were no alarms, and no signal to the passengers, again I'm not surprised. I have been on this ship and the crew and the Captain DONT speak english, and so they don't speak to the passengers very much. I have to believe if they had told the passengers about the storm, they would have told the Captain to stay in port to wait out the storm. I can't help but speculate the Captain being told not to go, and the owner fearing the Americans might want a refund tells the captain to go anyway, it's all about the money. A news station in California reported that the "California Secretary of State website says Baja Sportfishing's business license has been suspended. It doesn't state a reason or give a date." I think there will be more to this story somebody needs to serve some time!!!!! JMHO