Fishing YouTuber Mikey Rijavec has been found dead, five days after issuing a mayday call off the coast of Baja California and vanishing at sea.
Rijavec, creator of the Fish and Sips YouTube channel, was last heard from on November 11, when he radioed for help roughly eight miles from shore. According to NBC News, he reported engine trouble before the call abruptly cut out.
Authorities launched a massive search involving the US Coast Guard, the Mexican Navy, dozens of local boats, private pilots, and ground teams. Mexican authorities coordinated closely with Rijavec’s family, who were in the area trying to assist.
His turquoise 14-foot skiff was discovered upside down on Thursday in the same region where the distress call originated. The outboard engine was missing.
“What could have happened? Oh my god, it’s endless,” Phil Friedman, a friend who joined the search, told NBC San Diego.
A GoFundMe organized by Mikey’s brother, Gregory, raised nearly $47,000 to support search efforts, drawing attention well beyond his channel’s 20,000-subscriber audience.
Mikey Rijavec was confirmed dead by his brother.
YouTuber found dead days after mayday call
By November 14, the US Coast Guard suspended its search, but friends and volunteers continued scouring the coastline.
On Sunday, November 16, Gregory confirmed that his brother’s body had been recovered near San Cristobal.
“It is time for the countless people involved in the search for Mikey to finally rest and begin to find peace,” he wrote in the GoFundMe update. “Mikey’s body was found in the water near San Cristobal earlier today. As difficult as it is to accept this, we are grateful that it provides us some closure.”
Gregory’s tribute emphasized the overwhelming support the family received throughout the ordeal.
FacebookMikey Rijavec issued a mayday call on November 11.
“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,” he wrote. “Selflessness is one of the greatest acts of love. We were united in the search and we are united in love.”
He added that Mikey lived with intention and positivity.
“Mikey was mindful and present every day, and that allowed him to live a longer life than can be measured on a calendar. His mission was to spread his positive energy and make every person he came in contact with better, and he did.”
Authorities have not yet released details on what caused the accident.
