victoria man steals yacht

Wanted Victoria man arrested after dramatic U.S. Coast Guard rescue of stolen yacht

Jericho Labonte turned up in northwestern Oregon, leaving a bizarre trail involving dead fish, the Goonies' house, and a stolen yacht.

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A Victoria man wanted on a B.C.-wide warrant has been arrested in Oregon after a dramatic rescue from a yacht caught in the rough, churning waters of the Columbia River.

Jericho Labonte is wanted by police for harassment, mischief and failure to comply from an incident in Victoria last October. Last month, Victoria police issued an alert seeking the public’s assistance in locating the 36-year-old, who they believe posed a risk to public safety.

Labonte turned up in northwestern Oregon, leaving a bizarre trail involving dead fish, the Goonies’ house, and a stolen yacht.

On Friday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard rescued a mayday call from a yacht in trouble at the mouth of the Columbia River and triangulated the vessel’s location. The rescue was captured in a stunning video which shows a rescue swimmer lowered by cable from a helicopter, swimming to the yacht fondering in heavy surf and massive waves.

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(1/4) #BreakingNews - Talk about arriving in the nick of time! While conducting a training mission at the mouth of the Columbia River, 2 Coast Guard air crews received a #MAYDAY broadcast from the master of the P/C Sandpiper. After notifying watchstanders at Sector Columbia River pic.twitter.com/CtYSgpdPUG — USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) February 3, 2023

As the swimmer approached the vessel, a large wave slammed into it, rolling the boat over and throwing a man, later identified as Labonte, into the water.

The swimmer reached Labonte and pulled him to safety.

Labonte was flown to a Coast Guard base where medics treated him for mild hypothermia and took him to a hospital.

Police in Astoria had already been looking for Labonte since Wednesday, although they didn’t know who he was at the time.

They were looking for a man who had posted a video of himself on social media placing a dead fish on the front porch of the Goonies’ house — featured in the 1985 Steven Spielberg film The Goonies and one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions — and dancing around the property, said Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly.

On Friday, after the rescue, police got a call from port security telling them that the vessel involved in the rescue had been stolen. At the same time, the police department also got calls from several citizens identifying the rescued victim as Labonte.

“It’s been a really odd 48 hours,” Kelly said.

By the time police identified him as the suspect, Labonte had already been released from hospital.

Police found Labonte at a low-barrier shelter at a nearby town 35 km south of Astoria. He was taken into custody to face charges of theft, endangering another person, unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal mischief.

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twitter.com/cherylchan

— with files from Associated Press

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Watch: Fugitive from Victoria rescued by U.S. Coast Guard after stolen yacht flips

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A wild story involving a dead fish, a cult movie, a boat theft and a death-defying rescue at sea has culminated in a wanted Victoria man being locked up in Oregon.

It all started Wednesday, about 6 p.m., when Astoria police received a call from a concerned citizen telling them that Jericho Wolf Labonte had posted a disturbing video on his Facebook page showing him putting a dead fish on the porch of The Goonies house, Police Chief Stacy Kelly said Saturday.

The house, where the 1985 movie The Goonies was filmed, has become an unofficial tourist attraction in a residential neighbourhood, Kelly said.

“People live there. It’s not a museum. However, we get visitors constantly who go up there, take pictures in front of it. … It’s like the movie that doesn’t die,” Kelly said. “It has quite the following.”

Labonte put the fish on the porch, covered the security cameras with stickers, then danced around the property and the property next door, “just acting really odd,” said Kelly.

Police began looking for Labonte to arrest him and charge him with criminal mischief.

Then Friday, the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest posted videos on Twitter of an amazing rescue. The posts said two air crews were on a training mission at the mouth of the Columbia River when they received a mayday call from a yacht, floundering in the surf.

Lifeboats were launched but the ocean swells made it too dangerous to attempt a rescue. So the air crew lowered a swimmer by cable to rescue a man on board.

As the swimmer neared the vessel it was struck by a 10-metre wave. The boat rolled over, throwing the man into the rough sea. The swimmer pulled the man to safety and he was flown to Coast Guard Base Astoria, where paramedics were waiting to take him to hospital.

When the Port of Astoria security chief saw the videos, he recognized the $160,000 yacht and contacted the owner to let him know it had been stolen, said Kelly. The security chief also called police, who saw the video, recognized Labonte and put it all together.

Police called the coast guard and found out that Labonte had already been discharged from hospital.

Later Friday evening, police received a report that Labonte was at a warming shelter for the homeless in Seaside. Seaside police, Oregon State police and Clatsop County Sheriff found him and took him into custody.

On Jan. 19, Victoria police issued a public alert for Labonte, who is wanted B.C.-wide on charges of criminal harassment, mischief and three breaches.

“It is believed that Jericho Labonte is travelling to the Victoria area and that he may pose a risk to public safety. If you see Jericho Labonte, do not approach him and call 911,” said the alert.

Kelly said he didn’t know if Labonte would be handed over to Canadian authorities.

The U.S. Coast Guard contacted Immigration and Customs Enforcement and they are “very interested in him because he is in our country illegally. He did not enter through a port correctly,” said Kelly. “They actually have a history on him. They know where he enters and how he enters so they were very interested in getting hold of him.”

Police have reports that the boat broke apart. Pieces have washed up on a beach in Washington, directly across from Astoria.

Astoria police are charging Labonte with theft, endangering another person, unauthorized use of the vessel, in addition to criminal mischief relating to the dead fish.

“It’s been one crazy couple of days,” said the police chief. “It’s been non-stop and it’s a crazy story. … We’ll deal with it.”

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Victoria man rescued by U.S. Coast Guard wanted in 'Goonies' house fish incident, U.S. police say

Video captured the dramatic rescue, where a large wave turned the vessel over.

U.S. Coast Guard performs dramatic rescue in Columbia River

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A man saved by a Coast Guard rescue swimmer at the mouth of the Columbia River on Friday as a massive wave rolled the yacht he was piloting turned out to be wanted for a bizarre incident in which police said he left a dead fish at the Astoria, Ore., home featured in the classic 1985 film, The Goonies.

Officers had been looking for the man since Wednesday, when an acquaintance alerted them to a video he had posted on social media of himself leaving the fish at the house and then dancing around the property, said Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly.

Kelly identified the man as Jericho Labonte, 35, of Victoria, British Columbia.

Early Friday afternoon, the Coast Guard shared stunning video of a rescue made a few hours earlier, in which a newly minted rescue swimmer lowered by cable from a helicopter swam to an 11-metre yacht that was struggling in heavy surf.

As the swimmer approached the vessel, a large wave slammed into it, rolling the boat completely over and throwing the man onboard into the water.

The swimmer reached the man and pulled him to safety. The helicopter crew flew him to Coast Guard Base Astoria, where medics treated him for mild hypothermia and transported him to a local hospital.

(2/4)…who launched motor life boats from STA Cape Disappointment, the air crews arrived on scene to find the vessel floundering in the surf! The surf made rescue by boat dangerous, so the aircrew decided to lower the rescue swimmer and have the owner enter the water for rescue… <a href="https://t.co/z92WvzpTG9">pic.twitter.com/z92WvzpTG9</a> &mdash; @USCGPacificNW

The owner of the yacht, who lives in nearby Warrenton, Ore., reported the vessel stolen later Friday, the police chief said.

By the time police saw the Coast Guard's photos and video, and realized it was the same person who covered over security cameras at the Goonies house and left the dead fish on the porch, the hospital had already released him.

He was subsequently taken into custody at a warming centre in nearby Seaside, Ore, according to Kelly.

Kelly didn't know what kind of fish it was, but said it had been caught locally, because after the man's video from the Goonies house started circulating, another person called police to report having taken the man out fishing.

"It's been a really odd 48 hours," he said. 

Labonte is also wanted in B.C. on criminal harassment, mischief and failure to comply cases from last fall, Kelly said. Victoria Police told CBC News in an email that they have not received confirmation or correspondence on whether the man arrested in Oregon was Labonte.

Kelly told CBC News that Labonte would be charged with theft, endangering another person (for putting the Coast Guard swimmer at risk), unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal mischief (for throwing the fish on the porch). In addition, Kelly said that the suspect had "some sort of infatuation" with the  Goonies .

"There's a part in a movie where this guy and it's famous, he says, 'Hey you guys!' ", Kelly said.

"That's what the suspect said to the deputies when they arrested him."

'Graveyard of the Pacific'

The mouth of the Columbia, the largest North American river that flows into the Pacific Ocean, has such notoriously rough seas that it is known as "the graveyard of the Pacific." The Coast Guard was conducting several trainings nearby when the mayday call from the yacht came in at about 10 a.m. Friday, said Petty Officer Michael Clark.

The mayday call contained no information about vessel location or what the problem was, but the agency was able to triangulate roughly where the call was coming from, Clark said. Crews on vessels and in a helicopter who happened to be training nearby responded. 

• Listen Indiana Jones and The Goonies star Ke Huy Quan on his return to acting after 20 years

They found the yacht, the P/C Sandpiper, taking on water in 20-foot (six-metre) seas — meaning the height of a wave from the previous trough could be as much as 40 feet (12 metres), Clark said. 

The rescue swimmer, John "Branch" Walton — who was on his first rescue just after graduating from the Coast Guard's rescue swimmer program — was lowered from the helicopter by a cable. As he neared the vessel, the man on board climbed onto the stern, preparing to get into the water.

But just then a huge wave slammed the boat, throwing him into the surf. The wave struck so violently that the vessel rolled completely over and wound up floating upright.

The swimmer managed to locate the man in the surf and pulled him to safety.

"It's a bit of a christening for a new rescue swimmer," Clark said.

With files from CBC News

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Man who allegedly left a dead fish at the 'Goonies' house rescued from rough seas near stolen yacht

Unknowing rescuers plucked a man accused of placing a dead fish at an Oregon house featured in "The Goonies" from rough waters Friday, moments after the yacht he'd been on capsized, authorities said.

The man, later identified as Jericho Labonte, 35, of Victoria, British Columbia, was taken into custody Friday after a number of people recognized him, police in Astoria, Oregon, said in a statement.

Authorities started pursuing Labonte after receiving a report Wednesday that he posted a video on Facebook that showed him placing the dead fish on the porch of the residence, police said. The home is nicknamed after "The Goonies," Steven Spielberg's 1985 boyhood adventure film in which the house appears.

But it wasn't until after the U.S. Coast Guard shared a video Friday showing a dramatic rescue that authorities learned the boat in the video had been stolen and the man rescued was believed to be Labonte, police said.

Astoria police said Labonte was wanted on allegations of theft, endangering another person, unauthorized use of a vehicle, and criminal mischief. Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly said some of the allegations were from preexisting cases in British Columbia, according to the Associated Press .

Video of the rescue taken from onboard a U.S. Coast Guard helicopter showed a person, later identified as Labonte, alone on a 35-foot vessel, which had put out a mayday call and was taking on water, the Coast Guard said. A rescue swimmer is seen cutting rapidly toward them through the rough seas until a wave neared, he went overboard, and the boat capsized.

The rescue swimmer took the wave head on, got under it, and emerged to grab the suspect, according to the the video and Coast Guard statements.

A helicopter crew hoisted the two up to safety, the agency said.

Later in the day, police were informed by the Port of Astoria security chief that the vessel from the rescue had been stolen from the port. Several residents also called to say they recognized the man rescued as Labonte, police said.

By the time Labonte was identified as the suspect, he had been released from Columbia Memorial Hospital following his rescue, police said.

Officers later arrested him about 17 miles south of Astoria in Seaside, Oregon, at a warming center for people who need shelter, Astoria police said late Friday night.

An attempt to reach Labonte was unsuccessful.

The rescue took place about 6 miles west of the mouth of the Columbia River off the Oregon Coast, according to Coast Guard. The seas off the coast were measured as high as 20 feet Friday, federal forecasters said.

The brave rescuer was identified late Friday as Aviation Survival Technician 3rd Class John “Branch” Walton. It was his first life saved as a rescue swimmer and he graduated later that day from the Coast Guard’s Advanced Helicopter Rescue School, the agency said.

Astoria, a city on the Columbia River, is roughly 100 miles northwest of Portland, Oregon.

A Kansas City entrepreneur bought the Victorian "Goonies" house in the city in December for $1.65 million, keeping his identity under wraps until the deal closed in January, according to reports from NBC affiliates  KING  of Seattle and  KGW  of Portland. The latter described buyer Behman Zakeri as a ‘Goonies’ “superfan” who intends to preserve the property as a place where the film’s other fans can visit and take selfies.

Dennis Romero is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.

Man rescued from sinking yacht in Oregon allegedly left dead fish at 'Goonies' house days earlier

Police in Astoria, Oregon, said the yacht had been stolen.

A man saved from a sinking yacht was later identified as a wanted suspect who allegedly left a fish on the porch of the house from “The Goonies” in Oregon, police said.

The yacht had been stolen and the man, identified as Jericho Labonte, 35, was arrested after the rescue, police in Astoria, Oregon, said.

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Pacific Northwest district on Friday released a video of a yacht in danger in high waves at the mouth of the Colombia River.

“The surf made rescue by boat dangerous, so the aircrew decided to lower the rescue swimmer and have the owner enter the water for rescue,” the Coast Guard said. “As he entered the water the vessel capsized but the rescue swimmer was able to safely recover the individual.”

After the Coast Guard posted the video, police in Astoria, Oregon, said they began receiving calls about both the rescued man and the vessel.

“On February 3, 2023, we received a call from Port Security Chief Matt Hansen informing us that the vessel involved in the Coast Guard rescue earlier in the day was stolen from the Port of Astoria,” the department said in a news release . “He recognized the vessel on the video, contacted the owner, and confirmed that it had been stolen.”

Calls also began coming in about the man who had been rescued, with locals identifying him as Labonte, police said. Police in Victoria, British Columbia, had been searching for Labonte since at least Jan. 19, when they issued a province-wide arrest warrant for him for five unendorsed warrants for charges of criminal harassment, mischief and three counts of failure to comply.

Police in Oregon said Labonte was released from the hospital on Friday before they realized who he was.

“He had been transported to Columbia Memorial Hospital after the rescue as a precaution and was discharged before being identified as the suspect,” Astoria police officials said.

Astoria Police said they had added their own charges against Labonte, saying in press release that he was wanted on charges including theft, endangering another person, unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal mischief.

They said they had received a call on Feb. 1 saying that Labonte “had posted a video of himself on Facebook placing a dead fish on the front porch of the Goonies’ house.”

Labonte was arrested on Friday evening at the Seaside Warming Center, a shelter in Astoria, police said.

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Coast Guard Swimmer Recounts Dramatic Rescue of Alleged Oregon Yacht Thief and ‘Goonies’ Prankster

On the morning the U.S. Coast Guard in Astoria received a frantic mayday call from a yacht sinking near the treacherous mouth of the Columbia River, John “Branch” Walton was in his fifth and final day of advanced training as a rescue swimmer.

Walton and his classmates leapt at the chance to respond. But it was a quick game of rock-paper-scissors that settled which swimmer would plunge into the churning, frigid waters nearby. Walton won. He was the least experienced of the bunch.

“They all could have got it done, but they let me go,” Walton said. “I was kind of in disbelief, like, ‘Oh, is this really happening?’”

Unbeknownst to the 22-year-old who learned to swim only after joining the Coast Guard a few years earlier, he’d soon execute a very difficult rescue seamlessly. And he would be thrust into the national limelight as millions viewed video of his first real-world rescue, taken from a camera mounted to the Coast Guard helicopter that flew him to the imperiled boater. Walton was widely lauded for his courage and agility.

It wasn’t until later that day that Walton and others in the Coast Guard would learn the man he’d pulled from the stormy waters allegedly had stolen the $160,000 yacht and drawn the attention of Astoria police for placing a dead fish on the porch of the famous “Goonies” house days earlier.

Two 47-foot Coast Guard boats were the first to respond to the yacht’s 10 a.m. Feb. 3 mayday call. But crew members quickly realized they couldn’t attempt a rescue by boat. The seas were far too rough, and if they got too close the waves might slam their vessels into the disabled yacht as they attempted to bring the man onboard. Instead, they tossed a life jacket on a weighted line to the man, the yacht’s sole occupant. He slipped it on.

Already on the way was a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter. On board were flight mechanics Joseph Ivy and Kyle Turcotte and pilots Tripp Haas and Will Sirokman. Then there was Walton, wearing flippers, a mask, snorkel and a dry suit.

Walton said he felt secure attempting the rescue because his four companions were all experienced instructors from his previous week of training, and all the skills he needed were still fresh in his mind.

“I knew I was in good hands,” Walton said. “I had an amazing crew.”

Around 10:40 a.m., the crew lowered Walton by cable into 20-foot swells where the Columbia meets the Pacific Ocean, an area dubbed the “Graveyard of the Pacific” for the many hundreds of boats sunk and lives lost over the centuries.

There, miles west of Astoria, bobbed the disabled 35-foot yacht.

Walton unclipped himself from the cable and then bolted toward the yacht. Within seconds, he was treading water, trying to persuade the man who was standing at the stern to jump toward him, he said. But just then a powerful wave was forming. The man pointed at it, and Walton ducked underwater in an attempt to avoid the churn. It’s a move often used by surfers to avoid the full force of breaking waves.

“The wave was pretty violent; there’s not much you can do other than just kind of ride it out,” said Walton, likening the experience to tumbling around in a washing machine.

When Walton surfaced, he regained his bearings and saw the man a ways off. His helicopter crew lowered the cable and hook. He clipped in, and they swiftly flew him over to the man’s new location.

“They did a fantastic job of swooping right in and dropping that hook down,” Walton said. “I hooked in, and they just put me right on top of him.”

Walton and the crew figure that before Walton ever got to him, the boat that gave the man a life jacket saved his life. Otherwise, he likely wouldn’t have resurfaced once the wave hit him.

Walton said the man was eager to be rescued.

“He asked ‘What do I do?’” Walton recounted. “And I yelled at him, I said ‘Nothing. Don’t do anything. Just breathe.’”

Walton slipped a sling around him, and the helicopter crew hoisted them both to safety.

Once on the chopper, the man put his hand to his forehead and caught his breath. After Walton and one of the flight mechanics handed him blankets, the man laid down on the aircraft’s floor and pulled them over his head. He gave a name they would later learn was fake, then didn’t say much of anything, Walton said.

Meanwhile, the flight mechanic congratulated Walton on his first rescue – lifting both his arms to offer Walton two high-fives. Coast Guard video shows a beaming Walton.

It was several hours later that authorities learned the man’s real name: Jericho Wolf Labonte. But that was after the helicopter landed, an ambulance rushed him to Astoria’s Columbia Memorial Hospital to be treated for mild hypothermia and the 35-year-old was released into the community on his own.

Police had been looking for Labonte since Feb. 1, after the owners of the famed house from the 1985 movie, “The Goonies,” reported that a man fitting Labonte’s description left a dead fish on their front porch and covered the lenses of their security cameras in stickers. An Astoria resident also had reported Labonte posted a video of himself on Facebook chanting lines from the movie and walking up to the porch to show the dead fish.

As local police delved into who Labonte was, they learned authorities in Victoria, British Columbia, had issued five warrants for his arrest for alleged crimes that include “harassment” and “mischief.”

After the Coast Guard pulled Labonte from the mouth of the Columbia on Feb. 3, they learned he’d also allegedly stolen the yacht, the “Sandpiper,” from the Port of Astoria.

Police found and arrested Labonte about nine hours after the rescue, at a homeless shelter in nearby Seaside. Clatsop County prosecutors plan to charge Labonte with various crimes – possibly boat theft, criminal mischief and endangering the life of Walton by prompting the rescue – but say they haven’t yet because he’s currently being held at the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in Tacoma.

For Walton, that’s all beside the point. He was there to do what he’d trained for – save lives.

Walton had moved to Oregon only last year from North Carolina. He wasn’t aware of the mouth of the Columbia’s morbid history. And before he enlisted in the Coast Guard right out of high school, he had trouble making it from one side of a pool to the other.

“Before I joined, I definitely needed some help,” Walton said. “I couldn’t swim 50 yards, really.”

Getting to the point of expert swimmer and rescuer took months of hard work in the water and the classroom.

Training to become a rescue swimmer is so rigorous only about half of those who attempt the certification pass, said Coast Guard spokesperson Diolanda Caballero.

Each month, swimmers must pass a physical fitness test that includes at least 50 push-ups, a 500-yard crawl stroke in less than 12 minutes, swimming underwater for 25 yards and towing “a buddy” across 200 yards of water.

They also must train to become emergency medical technicians.

After earning his initial certification, Walton enrolled in advanced rescue swimmer training along the Oregon coast, chosen because of its particularly unforgiving waters.

Over the course of five days, swimmers work with helicopter crews to practice plunging themselves into heavy surf and plucking each other out. They dangle along cliff faces to practice vertical rescues and sometimes even swim into sea caves to prepare for every possible scenario.

Brian Kirkendall is a fellow rescue swimmer and the lead instructor at Advanced Helicopter Rescue School, where Walton spent the week training before the Feb. 3 rescue. Kirkendall said despite the cloud created by Labonte’s alleged shenanigans, the rescue was an example of the Coast Guard holding true to one of its missions.

“It’s incredibly inspiring to see our next generation coming up, willing to put it all on the line for a complete stranger,” Kirkendall said, adding he didn’t care about Labonte’s backstory.

“If someone needs help,” he said, “we’ll bring them back.”

In 2022, the Coast Guard district covering Oregon and Washington responded to more than 600 calls for help on the water. Calls include those as minor as a mariner’s emergency distress beacon mistakenly going off to as major as another dramatic helicopter rescue that took place just last week, about 30 miles north of Astoria, near Willapa Bay, Washington. The Coast Guard pulled two soaked men from an inflatable rescue raft in the dark of night after their 46-foot crabbing vessel sunk, but a third man was lost at sea.

The Coast Guard is undergoing a historic lull in recruitment, amid a nationwide labor shortage. In response, it has lowered barriers to recruitment, including by raising the maximum enlistment age to 42. Coast Guard officials hope stories such as Walton’s inspire others to join.

After Walton plucked Labonte from the mouth of the Columbia, he texted his mom the video and then phoned her “because I didn’t think it was going to get out or anything.”

Walton cracks up as he recalls how his mom had some thoughts to share about her son swimming so precariously close to the yacht: “She just said, ‘Maybe be a little farther away from the boat next time.’”

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Victoria man arrested in U.S. after capsizing yacht and leaving dead fish at ‘Goonies’ house

By Cole Schisler

Posted February 5, 2023 12:45 pm.

Last Updated February 6, 2023 8:25 am.

A Victoria man who was rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard after capsizing a stolen yacht at the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon has now been arrested for stealing the yacht, and leaving a dead fish at the Astoria home featured in “The Goonies”.

Before heading stateside, 35-year-old Jericho Labonte was wanted on a B.C. wide warrant for criminal harassment, mischief, and three counts of failure to comply. Now he’s facing charges of theft, endangering another person, unauthorized use of a vehicle and mischief in Oregon.

(1/4) #BreakingNews – Talk about arriving in the nick of time! While conducting a training mission at the mouth of the Columbia River, 2 Coast Guard air crews received a #MAYDAY broadcast from the master of the P/C Sandpiper. After notifying watchstanders at Sector Columbia River pic.twitter.com/CtYSgpdPUG — USCGPacificNorthwest (@USCGPacificNW) February 3, 2023

The U.S. Coast Guard says it rescued Labonte on Friday after the 35-foot vessel he was piloting was capsized by a breaking wave. Labonte was flung from the yacht when it rolled, but was saved by Coast Guard swimmer John “Branch” Walton . The rescue was a first for Walton, who was student of the Advanced Helicopter Rescue School.

“Hours later, he and his classmates graduated from the Advanced Rescue Helicopter School,” the Coast Guard said.

Jericho Labonte was taken into custody at the Seaside Warming Center after stealing a yacht from the Port of Astoria and eventually sinking it. (Courtesy: Astoria 911 Dispatch)

Labonte taken to hospital and treated for minor injuries and later discharged.

That’s when officers from the Astoria Police Department came looking for Labonte, explaining the yacht had been stolen and Labonte was wanted for leaving a dead fish on the porch of “The Goonies” house and filming himself dancing around the property.

Police later found Labonte at a warming shelter in Astoria and took him into custody.

“It’s been a really odd 48 hours,” Astoria police Chief Stacy Kelly said.

At this point, it’s not clear if Labonte will be sent back to Canada to face the charges he’s wanted on in Victoria.

– With files from the Associated Press

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Wanted Victoria man arrested in U.S. after Coast Guard rescue, bizarre fish incident

A man who was saved by a Coast Guard rescue swimmer at the mouth of the Columbia River as a massive wave rolled the yacht he was piloting Friday was wanted for a bizarre incident in which police said he left a dead fish at the Astoria, Oregon, home featured in the classic 1985 film, “The Goonies.”

Officers had been looking for the man since Wednesday, when an acquaintance alerted them to a video he posted on social media of himself leaving the fish at the house and then dancing around the property, Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly said.

Kelly identified the man as Jericho Labonte, 35, of Victoria, British Columbia. Labonte is also wanted in British Columbia on criminal harassment, mischief and failure to comply cases from last fall, Kelly said.

Early Friday afternoon, the Coast Guard shared stunning video of a rescue made a few hours earlier in which a newly minted rescue swimmer lowered by cable from a helicopter swam to a 35-foot (11-metre) yacht that was struggling in heavy surf. As the swimmer approached the vessel, a large wave slammed into it, rolling the boat over 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 pulled him to safety. The helicopter crew flew him to Coast Guard Base Astoria, where medics treated him for mild hypothermia and transported him to a hospital.

The yacht's owner, who lives in nearby Warrenton, Oregon, reported the vessel stolen later Friday, 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 who they said covered over security cameras at the Goonies house and left the dead fish on the porch.

Police said Saturday that Labonte had been taken into custody .

Kelly didn't know what kind of fish it was, but said police believed it was caught locally because after the video started circulating another person reported having taken Labonte fishing.

“It's been a really odd 48 hours,” Kelly said.

The mouth of the Columbia, the largest North American river flowing into the Pacific Ocean, is known as “the graveyard of the Pacific” for its notoriously rough seas. The Coast Guard received the yacht's mayday call around 10 a.m. Friday while conducting trainings nearby, Petty Officer Michael Clark said.

The mayday contained no information about location or the specific problem, but the agency roughly triangulated the vessel's location and nearby boat crews and a helicopter responded.

They found the P/C Sandpiper yacht taking on water in 20-foot (6-metre) seas, meaning the height of a wave from the previous trough could be as much as 40 feet (12 metres), Clark said.

Walton, who only recently graduated from the Coast Guard's rescue swimmer program, was lowered from the helicopter by a cable. Labonte climbed onto the stern and prepared to enter the water just as a huge wave slammed the craft, throwing him into the surf. The wave struck so violently that the vessel rolled completely over and wound up floating upright.

Walton said in an interview Friday that he planned to reach the man, get him in the water and hook him to a cable attached to the helicopter. Instead, the wave hit.

“I kind of got thrown around a little bit by the wave. When I came up I noticed the boat was pretty much in shambles,” Walton said.

He directed the helicopter to bring him to Labonte after spotting him in the surf a short distance away. The force of the wave had mostly knocked off his life jacket, Walton said.

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by KATU Staff

ASTORIA, Ore. — U.S. Coast Guard crews rescued a boater in distress just as his boat capsized in the surf near Cape Disappointment on Friday.

According to police in Astoria, that boater, 35-year-old Jericho Labonte, is accused of stealing the boat. He is also suspected of leaving a large dead fish on the porch of the "Goonies" house.

According to the Coast Guard, two aircrews were on a training mission at the mouth of the Columbia River when they got a “mayday” call from a boat that was “floundering in the surf."

A boat crew was also called out from the Coast Guard Station at Cape Disappointment; however, the surf made a boat rescue too dangerous.

USCG officials decided to lower the rescue swimmer, who was on his first rescue, and have Labonte enter the water.

Just as he jumped into the water, the vessel capsized. The rescue swimmer was able to safely get to Labonte, who was flown back to the Astoria Coast Guard Base for a medical evaluation.

He was released around 3:30 p.m., as authorities at that time did not know the boat was stolen.

Police were notified around 4 p.m. that the boat had been stolen from the Astoria Port.

Police found Labonte at a warming shelter in Seaside, where he had used a fake name. They arrested him at around 7:30 p.m.

Officers had been looking for him since Wednesday, when an acquaintance alerted them to a video he had posted on social media of himself leaving the fish at the Goonies house and then dancing around the property, said Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly.

Police said Labonte has five outstanding warrants in Victoria, British Columbia. Victoria police are sending officers to Oregon to question him.

The rescue swimmer, Petty Officer 1st Class Branch Walton, of Greenville, South Carolina, only recently graduated from the Coast Guard's rescue swimmer program.

Walton said in an interview Friday that he planned to reach the man, get him in the water and hook him to a cable attached to the helicopter. Instead, the wave hit.

“I kind of got thrown around a little bit by the wave. When I came up I noticed the boat was pretty much in shambles," Walton said.

He directed the helicopter to bring him to Labonte after spotting him in the surf a short distance away. The force of the wave had mostly knocked off his life jacket, Walton said.

The Associated Press contributed.

Man who was saved by Coast Guard during harrowing rescue stole the yacht he was piloting, Astoria police say

• Updated: Jan. 03, 2024, 2:36 p.m.
• | Published: Feb. 03, 2023, 4:38 p.m.

In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest, a Coast Guard rescue swimmer reaches a boat right before a giant wave rolled the craft at the mouth of the Columbia River. The newly minted Coast Guard rescue swimmer saved the life of a man who was piloting the yacht. (Turcotte/U.S Coast Guard via AP) AP

• The Associated Press

A newly minted Coast Guard rescue swimmer saved a man’s life Friday at the mouth of the Columbia River between Oregon and Washington state just after a giant wave rolled the yacht he was piloting and threw him into the surf.

In an odd twist to the heroic story, Astoria police said Friday evening that the man who was rescued stole the yacht .

• Police arrest man they say left dead fish at Astoria’s ‘Goonies’ house, stole yacht and prompted harrowing Coast Guard rescue

Video from a Coast Guard helicopter captured part of the dramatic save. Petty Officer Michael Clark says the agency received a mayday call at about 10 a.m., with no additional information.

The agency was able to triangulate roughly where the call was coming from, and Coast Guard crews on vessels and in a helicopter who happened to be training nearby responded. They found the 35-feet yacht, the P/C Sandpiper, taking on water in 20-foot seas — meaning the height of a wave from the previous trough could be as much as 40 feet, Clark said.

The rescue swimmer — who was on his first rescue just after graduating from the Coast Guard’s rescue swimmer program — was lowered from the helicopter by a cable. As he neared the vessel, the man on board climbed onto the stern, preparing to get into the water.

But just then a huge wave slammed the boat, throwing him into the surf. The wave struck so violently that the vessel rolled completely over and wound up floating upright.

The swimmer managed to locate the man in the surf and pulled him to safety aboard the MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter. The crew brought him to Coast Guard Base Astoria, where medics treated him for mild hypothermia.

“It’s a bit of a christening for a new rescue swimmer,” Clark said.

The swimmer’s name was not immediately released. Astoria police identified the man who was rescued as Jericho Labonte, 35. He is wanted by Canadian police and, after today’s incident, by Astoria police for allegedly stealing the yacht, said Astoria police chief Stacy Kelly.

The mouth of the Columbia, the largest North American river that flows into the Pacific Ocean, has such notoriously rough seas that it is known as “the graveyard of the Pacific.”

In this photo provided by the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Northwest, a Coast Guard ship, left, attempts to a rescue a distressed yacht at the mouth of the Columbia River . A newly minted Coast Guard rescue swimmer saved the life of a man who was piloting the yacht. ( Kyle Turcotte/U.S. Coast Guard via AP) AP

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Pittsburgh River Rescue arrests man after he allegedly stole a yacht on the Allegheny River

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- One person is in custody after stealing a yacht on the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh

At around 6 a.m. Friday morning, a marina manager called the captain of a yacht that was supposed to be moored at dock in the strip district and told him his yacht was missing. The captain then called 911 and reported his yacht stolen.   

According to Pittsburgh Public Safety, just before 8 a.m., River Rescue responded to the report. According to court paperwork, Michael Fischer broke into the Lock Wall Marina off 23rd Street in the Strip District. 

Police said he boarded and unmoored an 82-foot yacht, but he was unable to turn on the engine. He floated down the river and the yacht ultimately came to a rest along the river wall about 50 yards from the Pittsburgh River Rescue boathouse. 

River Rescue boarded and detained Fischer, who they said was intoxicated. He was cleared by EMS and was taken to the Allegheny County Jail. 

According to court paperwork, Fischer said, "I took the boat I wanted to meet some Pittsburgh Pirates." 

Captain Adam Kernohan was out Friday making checks to the yacht after it was returned to its original docking place. He said there was some sort of party, judging by the conditions. 

"Well we know it was a homeless person, we do know that," Kernohan said. "We love this city, and to have the homeless just feel that they can go ahead and just grab anything that they want and just drift away and sail away on whatever they want is ridiculous."

Kernohan says it was definitely not just one person who boarded the yacht and stole it. He says he's basing that on the amount of the yacht's food, drinks and alcohol that was stolen, not the mention the way he says they trashed the entire boat, including the engine room. 

"The problem is is how did they get on here? Did they swim across from the river, did they climb over a fence? How did they get access at 0 dark 30 in the morning?" he said. 

Pittsburgh police acknowledged there was only one arrest. 

"Given the value of the boat, this is huge, huge. It's a big time felony. One of the officers said it could be 20 to 25 years in jail. But I think the problem is, I mean, how do you prosecute somebody who has nothing?" Kernohan said. 

This yacht is owned by Michael Jennison, the CEO of Jennison Corporation in Carnegie. Jennison uses the yacht for corporate functions and family affairs. They had a cruise scheduled for Friday night, but it's obviously now canceled.

Court paperwork shows Fischer has been charged with theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and defiant trespass.