No word about missing Alaska crewman

By Dan Joling
The Associated Press

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Robert G. Lane, 35, of Anchorage, went overboard from the 41-foot Hunter early Friday somewhere between King Cove and Sand Point near the tip of the Alaska Peninsula.

His disappearance was not reported for nearly 12 hours until skipper Joseph Kuzmin piloted the Hunter to Sand Point. Kuzmin, 28, told the Coast Guard and state troopers that Lane fell off the vessel after walking onto the deck for a smoke at 4 a.m.

Kuzmin and Lane were the only crew on board the vessel.

Kuzmin initially told the Coast Guard he had made a radio transmission reporting Lane overboard, Coast Guard spokesman Roger Wetherell said. However, after more questioning, he told investigators his radio and radar were malfunctioning.

Kuzmin told investigators he searched for Lane for five hours, then piloted his vessel to Sand Point, 570 miles southwest of Anchorage. The Coast Guard searched for Lane for about five hours.

Kuzmin has run into trouble before. He was arrested in March 2003 near Kodiak after he reported to troopers that he was being held at gunpoint by his crew.

Crew members told officers that Kuzmin "had poked them with scissors, threatened them with screwdrivers and knives and ... handled his guns quite a bit while threatening them," troopers spokesman Greg Wilkinson said.

Fearing for their safety, two of them tackled the skipper, Wilkinson said.

Troopers seized three firearms and arrested Kuzmin on charges of misconduct involving a deadly weapon, drunken driving, refusal to submit to a chemical test and three counts of assault with a deadly weapon.

He pleaded no contest to fourth-degree assault and misconduct involving a weapon.

Copyright © 2004 The Seattle Times Company

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