After a nearly week-long search, the body of a San Diego fisherman and popular YouTuber who went missing during a fishing excursion off the coast of Baja California, Mexico, has been found.
Mikey Rijavec of Ocean Beach was fishing eight miles off the coast on Nov. 11 when he issued a mayday call. Over the phone, fellow anglers tried to help him with the engine trouble he was having when the call suddenly ended.
Dozens of private boat owners, the Mexican Navy and the U.S. Coast Guard helped in the search until Rijavec’s body was found near San Cristóbal in Baja California Sur on Sunday, according to an update on the fundraising website GoFundMe.
Phil Friedman, a fellow angler, podcaster and close friend of the missing boater, confirmed he received the sad news from Rijavec’s father.
“He’s an adventurer. He pushes the envelope. That’s part of what we love about him,“ Friedman said.
The YouTuber was piloting a skiff that suffered engine issues, the GoFundMe said. While attempting to fix the issue, the motor dislodged and the skiff flipped.
The day the search began, the 14-foot boat was recovered five miles off the coast, but the engine and Rijavec were not found.