Tragedy Near Alcatraz: Search Suspended for 3 Missing Boaters After Family Memorial Cruiser Capsizes in San Francisco Bay

A somber gathering intended to honor a lost loved one transformed into a scene of survival and profound tragedy in the cold, rough waters of the San Francisco Bay. Following a relentless, multi-agency rescue effort covering hundreds of square miles, the U.S. Coast Guard formally suspended its search for three missing passengers who disappeared after a 49-foot cabin cruiser capsized and sank.

The pleasure craft, carrying an extended group of 20 close family members and friends, was heavily destabilized by sudden, five-foot swells near Alcatraz Island. The maritime incident resulted in the death of a 79-year-old former sheriff’s deputy, while three women remain unaccounted for and are feared trapped inside the sunken vessel resting deep on the bay floor.

At The Modern Memo, we break down the operational timeline of the disaster, the harrowing firsthand rescue accounts from Good Samaritans on the water, and the immense logistical challenges facing recovery teams.

1. The Flotation Crisis: From Ash Scattering to Sudden Sinking

The timeline of the excursion underscores how rapidly a routine family voyage can dissolve into a catastrophic emergency under the unique, unpredictable pressure points of the Bay.

• The Memorial Mission: The extended Boisa family had boarded the Volare, a Stockton-based, three-deck pleasure vessel owned and operated by a highly experienced U.S. Navy veteran. The group had traveled out to the bay specifically to scatter the ashes of a daughter who had passed away over a decade prior.

• The Fatal Wave: After passing under the Golden Gate Bridge and visiting Angel Island, the vessel was returning toward a San Francisco marina at approximately 3:30 p.m. when it encountered severe, localized chop. A massive five-foot swell struck the cruiser, causing it to take on water rapidly, list aggressively to one side, and completely roll over before plunging into the depths.

• The Lost Patriarch: First responders and nearby vessels managed to pull 17 survivors out of the water. Among them was 79-year-old Clifford Joseph Boisa, a retired Sutter County reserve deputy. Despite immediate, exhaustive CPR administered on a police marine deck, Boisa was pronounced dead shortly after reaching the shore. A family dog aboard the vessel also perished.

2. “Like the Titanic”: The Good Samaritan Response

Before formal Coast Guard cutters and municipal fireboats could navigate the rough seas, local civilian fishermen served as the immediate line between life and death for the struggling family.

• The Halibut Crew Intercept: Local fishermen Justin Marceline and Michael Montoya were angling for halibut when they noticed what appeared to be heavy smoke—later determined to be massive plumes of escaping steam—billowing from a listing vessel. Arriving at the coordinates, they found the cabin cruiser halfway submerged and immediately began pulling freezing, exhausted victims out of the swell.

• The Underwater Horror: The civilian rescuers recounted a haunting scene, detailing how several elderly passengers were bobbing without life jackets or clinging desperately to windsurf boards. Horrifically, Marceline noted that through the windows of the rapidly sinking main deck, he could clearly see trapped individuals frantically pounding on the glass attempting to break free before the hull went completely under.

3. The Search Suspension and the 130-Foot Retrieval Wall

Following a 54-combined-hour saturation of the search grid utilizing advanced radar, aerial sweeps, and continuous surface tracks, military commanders made the agonizing decision to halt active rescue operations.

Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Commander Capt. Jarod Toczko extended deep condolences to the devastated family, clarifying that crews had completely exhausted all viable search patterns. The investigation has now transitioned entirely into a complex underwater recovery phase managed by the San Francisco Police Department’s Special Operations Bureau. Because the extreme depth and sweeping currents of the bay near Alcatraz make human dive operations intensely hazardous, technicians are preparing to deploy remote-controlled underwater drones to map the structural integrity of the Volare. Only after drone footage verifies the state of the hull will engineers determine if the multi-ton cabin cruiser can be safely rigged and hoisted to the surface to retrieve the remaining victims.

Final Word

The suspension of the search in the San Francisco Bay is the definitive proof of the swift, unyielding peril that defines the Pacific maritime environment. When you look past the clinical, administrative terminology of “pending further developments” and analyze the hard data—a 49-foot vessel rolling completely over in five-foot swells, civilian fishermen pulling eight hypothermic survivors from the water, and the sunken craft resting 130 feet down in an area too deep for standard divers—you gain an unvarnished view of a profound tragedy. Quality information replaces general reporting with the heavy reality of a family completely shattered while attempting to fulfill a final act of devotion. As local police units prepare the drones for a grim salvage operation, the dark waters near Alcatraz stand as a stark, permanent reminder that despite our advanced search grids and heroic civilian interventions, the sea retains the final, absolute word.

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