It's 2:23 in the morning when Steve notices a small craft sitting stationary in an area off Mayne Island on his radar. Steve has captained Sea Tow tugs for thirty-five years and knows the waters of the Gulf Islands and the Straits of Georgia well. No one would purposely anchor there with an on shore wind, especially when the area is notorious for small boats foundering on the rocky shoals off the east side of Mayne. He has pulled many of them off over his time working for SeaTow. He steers the tug closer shining his searchlight on the boat and hailing it on his loudspeaker with no reply. There is no sound except for the waves quietly lapping on the rocks, a dog barking onshore beyond the boat, and the quiet purr of a small outboard.

“Hmmm,” he thinks, “the outboard motor engine’s still running, it appears as if it is hit a rock and no one is aboard. I’ll take a closer look.”