Ex-State Lawmaker Missing in Auke Bay

By Katie Pesznecker, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska

Apr. 23–The Coast Guard was searching Auke Bay near Juneau on Sunday night for former State Rep. Bruce Weyhrauch, whose 15-foot boat was found abandoned and adrift.

Weyhrauch, 54, was last seen around 5 p.m. after dropping his son off at the family’s home in Auke Bay, according to a news release from the Coast Guard. Weyhrauch was headed to Auke Bay Harbor for mooring.

Another vessel, Navigator, reported spotting Weyhrauch’s drifting boat about 6:30 p.m., said Lt. Mara Booth-Miller, a Coast Guard spokesman. The boat was only about a mile southeast of the Juneau ferry terminal and the shore. The Coast Guard investigated and found the engine in gear and a fishing pole bobbing in the water nearby.

There was a float coat on board — like a life vest, but with sleeves, Booth-Miller said.

The Coast Guard launched a 25-foot boat from Station Juneau and a helicopter from Air Station Sitka, and put a Coast Guard cutter and an auxiliary wave runner on scene to help search.

The Coast Guard planned to search for Weyhrauch throughout the night, according to the news release. Weather in Juneau was good for searching into the evening, with 10-mile nautical visibility, light winds, and temperatures hovering in the mid-50 degrees range as the evening wore on.

Weyhrauch, an attorney and small business owner is married with three children.

Born in California, he first moved to southeast Alaska in 1974, spending three years in Sitka. He has also lived in Angoon and has lived in Juneau since 1986. The Republican served two terms in the state house, elected in 2002 and 2004.

Weyhrauch has remained active in his community, serving on Rotary and volunteering as a cubmaster and scoutmaster for the Boy Scouts of America Southeast Area Council.

The hobbies he lists on his personal Web site include watching classic films, hunting, gardening, camping and fishing.

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Copyright (c) 2007, Anchorage Daily News, Alaska

Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Business News.

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