The search for a missing California fisherman came to a tragic end this week. Mikey Rijavec, a San Diego–based angler with a large following on social media, went missing on Nov. 11 while fishing alone off the coast of Southern California. That led to a massive rescue effort that included both U.S. and Mexican authorities.
But the search ended when Rijavec’s body was found in the water this week near San Cristobal, Mexico, according to an update on a GoFundMe page raising money for the search efforts.
Gregory Rijavec, Mikey’s brother, wrote on Nov. 16 that the “countless people involved in the search for Mikey to finally rest and begin to find peace.” Even now, the circumstances that led to Mikey’s death are not fully clear.
“As difficult as it is to accept this, we are grateful that it provides us some closure,” Gregory wrote. “As we begin to process and reflect on what has happened over the last several days, it is clear what was at the core of the search for Mikey: love. Everyone poured everything into finding Mikey, because whether they knew him or not, they knew a son, a brother, a friend, a fisherman, a fellow human needed help. Everyone has been extremely selfless during this time, and selflessness is one of the greatest acts of love.”
A Massive Search
Authorities knew very quickly that something had likely gone wrong during Mikey’s fishing trip. He was about 8 miles off the California coast in a Solo Skiff when he issued a mayday call about 3 p.m. on Nov. 11, according to his brother. Fellow anglers were on the radio trying to help Mikey with some engine trouble when the call suddenly ended, NBC San Diego reported.
The U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican Navy both participated in search efforts, using a combination of boats and aircraft. Even many local fishermen got involved. The day the search began, Mikey’s 14-foot boat was recovered 5 miles off the coast, but searchers found neither Mikey nor the skiff’s engine.
The GoFundMe page started by Gregory raised more than $40,000 to cover the cost of gas and pilots: “Good vibes to Mikey and stay positive!” Gregory wrote for the initial fundraising campaign. On Thursday, it was still unclear who actually found Mikey’s body.
Mikey had cultivated a large following on social media, especially on his YouTube channel SD Fish and Sips, where he had racked up 21,000 subscribers and more than 4.5 million views of his fishing videos.
GearJunkie reached out to Gregory for additional information about Mikey, but didn’t hear back as of this writing.
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