Jeffrey Bruce Mitchell

Lost in the Shelikof: an Alaskan Family's Struggle to Survive Jeffrey Bruce Mitchell

Skipper Dale Pruitt stood barefoot atop the capsized hull of his fishing vessel. Bobbing in heavy seas, he steadied himself and assessed his situation. His crew was down below him in the water. The crew was his niece, his son, and his daughter. The t-shirt and shorts he wore would provide no protection against the dark, icy waters of the Shelikof Strait. But his options had fallen away quickly in the moments since he had sent out a mayday from the cabin of the foundering F/V Magnum. Leaning hard into the gale, Dale did what he had to do. He jumped into the Alaskan ocean. Meanwhile back at home in Kodiak, wife and mother Mindy Pruitt was preparing for the return of her family after two days and nights at sea. It would be a full 24 hours before she would know for sure that something had gone seriously wrong. Uncertain of the fate of her missing family, Mindy finds support in an inner circle of friends and family while her family struggles for their lives at sea. Lost in the Shelikof is the true story of the Pruitt Family. In June of 2007, the F/V Magnum sank. Its crew would be missing for over sixty hours before the harrowing conclusion.