5 rescued after 3 months adrift in the Pacific after unsuccessful Coast Guard search

Five people, including two children, were rescued months after a Coast Guard search ended while four others from the missing Micronesia skiff died. Five survivors, seen here in a photo posted on the Office of the Governor of Chuuk's Facebook page, were found near an island in Kiribati on Oct. 31, 2026, after nearly three months lost at sea. (Chuuk State Governor's Office) Five people thought lost at sea were rescued near a remote Pacific island over the weekend, more than three months after the U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search around Micronesia. The five, including two children, were among nine people aboard a skiff that disappeared July 30 during a transit of islands in Chuuk, part of the Federated States of Micronesia.

Between July 31 and Aug. 10, the Coast Guard scoured more than 33,000 square miles of ocean but called off the search after discovering no sign of the vessel. The boat and the five survivors were found Saturday near Fanning Island in the Micronesian country of Kiribati, according to Office of the Governor of Chuuk. The island is more than 3,300 miles from the vessel’s intended destination of Ruo in Chuuk. Villagers on Fanning Island spotted the boat drifting and rescued the five, the Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday. “We are thankful to God for bringing back