One dead, two missing after boat sinks near Alcatraz
A major search-and-rescue effort is continuing across San Francisco Bay near Alcatraz Island after a three-deck pontoon-style pleasure boat capsized, killing one person and leaving three others unaccounted for.
Authorities have identified the person who died as a former California reserve deputy sheriff, who was among the passengers aboard the recreational vessel when it overturned in the cold waters near Alcatraz.
Clifford Joseph Boisa, 79, of Sutter County, died after the three-level boat went down Tuesday afternoon while carrying 20 people, officials said. The Sutter County Sheriff’s Office confirmed to INC News that Boisa began serving as a reserve deputy sheriff in 1987.
As of Wednesday, three passengers were still missing while the U.S. Coast Guard and local emergency agencies pressed on with a wide-ranging search of the bay. Sixteen people were pulled from the water, including three who were transported to nearby hospitals for treatment.
The group on board was made up of extended family members who had gathered for a memorial outing that involved scattering a loved one’s ashes in San Francisco Bay, The New York Times reported.
Emergency crews rescued survivors after a recreational boat capsized near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay on Tuesday. (KTVU)
San Francisco Fire Chief Dean Crispin said emergency crews were called around 3:35 p.m. local time following reports of a boat fire about 600 yards from Alcatraz Island, in the stretch of water between the former federal prison and the Golden Gate Bridge.
But when first responders reached the scene, they did not find visible signs of fire. Instead, they discovered the vessel had capsized and was already largely underwater.
Crispin said the San Francisco Police Department’s marine unit found the vessel with only its upper deck above the water. The boat’s engine was still running, and fuel was leaking into the bay.
One person was found in the water, while the remaining occupants were located inside the vessel’s top compartment before rescuers pulled them to safety, he said.
Rescuers pulled people from the water after a recreational boat capsized near Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay on Tuesday, leaving one person dead and two missing. (KTVU)
Authorities have not yet determined what caused the boat to sink. However, officials have said strong summer winds and rapidly changing conditions on San Francisco Bay can create dangerous boating conditions.
Commercial fishermen Mike Montoya and Justin Marceline, who rushed to help after the vessel went down, described a frantic rescue as passengers fought to escape.
“There was even people banging at the windows as they were like filing out, and as soon as people were hitting the water, we were just trying to pick them up as fast as we can,” the fishermen told NBC Bay Area. “Some people didn’t even have life vests on and they were drowning.”
The Coast Guard and San Francisco Fire Department continued searching Wednesday using boats, helicopters, thermal imaging, tide predictions and drift modeling to find the three missing passengers.
San Francisco Fire Department and U.S. Coast Guard crews continue searching San Francisco Bay for three people missing after a recreational boat capsized near Alcatraz Island on July 15, 2026. One person died in the incident. (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Sutter County Sheriff’s Office told INC News it had no additional information to provide about Boisa. INC News also reached out to the San Francisco Fire Department for additional information.
Officials said the vessel departed from the area near San Francisco’s St. Francis Yacht Club. The cause of the sinking remains under investigation.
Boisa’s family did not immediately respond to INC News’s request for comment.
