VIDEO: ‘Wanted man’ rescued by Coast Guard after massive wave rolled the yacht he was piloting

A man who was saved by a US Coast Guard rescue swimmer at the mouth of the Columbia River as a massive wave rolled the yacht he was piloting on Friday was wanted for a bizarre incident in which police said he left a dead fish at the Astoria, Oregon, home featured in the classic 1985 film, "The Goonies.”

Officers had been looking for the man since Wednesday, when an acquaintance alerted them to a video he posted on social media of himself leaving the fish at the house and then dancing around the property, Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly said.

Kelly identified the man as Jericho Labonte, 35, of Victoria, British Columbia. Labonte is also wanted in British Columbia on criminal harassment, mischief and failure to comply cases from last fall, Kelly said.

Early Friday afternoon, the Coast Guard shared stunning video of a rescue made a few hours earlier in which a newly minted rescue swimmer lowered by cable from a helicopter swam to a 35-foot (11-meter) yacht that was struggling in heavy surf.

As the swimmer approached the vessel, a large wave slammed into it, rolling the boat over and throwing a man, later identified as Labonte, into the water.

The swimmer, Petty Officer 1st Class Branch Walton, of Greenville, South Carolina, reached Labonte and pulled him to safety.

The helicopter crew flew him to Coast Guard Base Astoria, where medics treated him for mild hypothermia and transported him to a hospital.

The yacht's owner, who lives in nearby Warrenton, Oregon, reported the vessel stolen later Friday, the police chief said.

The hospital had already released Labonte when police saw the Coast Guard photos and video and realized it was the same person who they said covered over security cameras at the Goonies house and left the dead fish on the porch.

Police were still looking for Labonte Friday evening.
Kelly didn't know what kind of fish it was, but said police believed it was caught locally because after the video started circulating another person reported having taken Labonte fishing.

Associated Press