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Derek Parker Aghnaanga, a 15-year-old from Alaska, survived nearly three days stranded on an overturned fishing boat after his brother and cousin drowned during a halibut fishing trip near St. Lawrence Island. The incident began when the skiff capsized around September 4; Derek was eventually rescued by the Coast Guard and a fishing vessel crew who found him kneeling on the boat in freezing conditions without food or water for over two days. His aunt described how Derek attempted to hold onto his brother Sidney Kulowiyi, 35, and cousin Barton Rookok, 34, after they died until he was rescued.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-16,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
On September 10, 2026, a 15-year-old boy named Derek Parker Aghnaanga was rescued by the Coast Guard after being stranded for nearly three days in Alaska’s Bering Sea. He had gone out fishing with his brother Sidney Kulowiyi and cousin Barton Rookok on September 4, 2026, but their boat capsized near St. Lawrence Island. While Aghnaanga survived by clinging to the overturned vessel, both of his relatives perished; his cousin slipped away during the night and his brother's body remained under the skiff. Rescuers found Aghnaanga suffering from hypothermia and hoisted him to safety with the assistance of a fishing boat crew.
Written for “Alaska Teen Rescue Bering Sea” on 2026-09-17,
grounded in this article and the 5 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
This article does not take a side on a contested political
question, so it has no leaning score. That is an
answer rather than a gap: a match report or a rescue can be warmly
or critically written without being left or right, and scoring it
anyway is how approval of a subject gets recorded as a political
position.
No political leaning scored for article 13903 · logged 2026-09-16
A 15-year-old Alaska boy survived about 62 hours stranded atop an overturned fishing boat in the frigid Bering Sea, trying to hold onto his brother and cousin after they drowned, his family says.
asserted
family → survive → brother
Derek Parker Aghnaanga was the lone survivor of a three-person fishing trip that ended when the skiff overturned near St. Lawrence Island.
asserted
skiff → end → Island
His older brother, Sidney Kulowiyi, 35, and cousin Barton Rookok, 34, died after the boat capsized.
asserted
boat → die → ?
The trio left the Alaska Native village of Savoonga on September 4 to fish for halibut.
asserted
trio → leave → halibut
They were expected to return to St. Lawrence Island by about 3 a.m. on September 6, but never arrived.
asserted
They → expect → September
Video shows Derek kneeling on top of the overturned skiff as waves crash around him.
asserted
waves → show → him
A U.S. Coast Guard HC-130 Hercules aircraft spotted him around 10:30 a.m. on September 7, after Alaska State Troopers notified the Coast Guard the previous night that the group was overdue.
asserted
group → spot → Guard
However, the Coast Guard-led search was delayed by dense fog.
asserted
search → lead → fog
Derek spent days exposed to the cold and waves without food or water before the Coast Guard called on the Northwest Explorer, a fishing vessel carrying 13 crew members and NOAA scientists, to help rescue him.
asserted
Guard → spend → him
I mean, that’s one tough kid,” Adam White, captain of the Northwest Explorer, told Alaska’s News Source.
asserted
White → mean → Source
The crew eventually reached Derek and pulled him aboard the vessel.
asserted
crew → reach → vessel
White said the teenager was visibly suffering from the cold.
asserted
teenager → say → cold
“Through the teeth chattering, he had mentioned that his brother was still under the skiff and then he said that in the previous night before our rescue that his cousin had slipped away off the top of the skiff,” White said.
asserted
White → mention → skiff
Derek's aunt, Colleen Walker, described the teenager’s ordeal in a GoFundMe campaign set up to help the family with his funeral expenses.
asserted
aunt → describe → expenses
“My nephew tried to hang onto them as long as he could after they drowned,” Walker wrote.
uncertain
Walker → try → them
Acting as a family spokesperson, Darren Toolie-Noongwook, Derek’s older brother, further told Alaska News Source: “In the middle of the night, waves hitting him, he was kneeling and praying.
asserted
he → act → him
That’s all he was doing was praying.
asserted
he → ’ → ?
He believed that he was gonna make it.
asserted
he → believe → it
That’s how he got through it.”
asserted
he → ’ → it
The Coast Guard recovered the bodies of Kulowiyi and Rookok and transported them and Aghnaanga to Nome.
asserted
Guard → recover → Nome
Derek is now reunited with his family.
asserted
Derek → reunite → family
The rescue also proved to be an emotional one for the crew, White said.
asserted
White → prove → crew
“When you look into a family member’s eyes ... there’s gratitude, but sorrow at the same time,” White said.
asserted
White → look → time
“I know I became overwhelmed with it so I had to go hide in my room for a minute.”
asserted
I → know → minute
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