A GoFundMe account has been set up for the family of Sequim resident Christian Akers, 35, and his son, Wyatt Akers, 7, after the two died in a boating accident last week on the Bogachiel River.
Two other men were with the father and son when their drift boat overturned Thursday afternoon.
One man survived the ordeal, while the other was still missing as the Sequim Gazette went to press Monday afternoon. Shortly after the paper went to press, the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office issued a press release stating that the Akers family dog, Turbo, a silver Lab, had been found safe.
First responders pulled Akers and his son from the water and attempted lifesaving measures, but both were declared dead at the scene, according to a press release issued Friday by the Clallam County Sheriff’s Office.
Search efforts continued for Alfonso Graham, 39, of Port Orchard, according to the press release.
Sheriff’s deputies were called to the scene at about 12:07 p.m. Thursday. A 33-year-old Port Orchard man reported he had been on the boat when it flipped. The man said he was able to stabilize himself by holding onto a tree to call 911.
In addition to the Sheriff’s Office, responding agencies were Clallam County Fire Districts 1 and 6, Forks Ambulance, La Push Police Department, La Push Department of Fish and Wildlife, the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Park Service.
Christian Akers’ LinkedIn page states that he started Olympic Chrome & Steel, a salmon fishing guide business, in 2021 after serving in the U.S. Navy.
“Trips are often out of my 17’ 1988 Willies aluminum drift boat or 14’ Wave destroyer pontoon raft,” the page states.
Also according to LinkedIn, Akers was a coach for the Sequim Junior Soccer League from October 2017 to May 2020.
Sequim School District officials report that Wyatt attended kindergarten at Greywolf Elementary last year but was not enrolled there this school year. Greywolf made counseling services available for Wyatt’s former classmates and/or students in need of grief support.
The Forks Forum reported that Shyliah Gorbett, president of Friends of Forks Animals, drove Turbo to the Akers family’s home in Sequim.
The online donation page can be found at gofundme.com/f/support-for-akers-family-after-the-bogachiel-river-tragedy. Just before noon Monday, the page showed that $20,106 had been raised, representing 78% of the $26,000 goal.
