Rescuers risked their own safety in the middle of a storm to try to save a man on a boat that sank in the water near Oak Harbor early Wednesday morning.

Tragically, crews in North Whidbey Fire and Rescue boats and a Coast Guard helicopter weren’t able to rescue the man. The partially submerged boat, a 37-foot Pacemaker, was located during a daylight search hours later, but the man’s body has not been recovered.

The name of the man, a 35-year-old resident of Yacolt, Washington, hasn’t been released pending notification of next of kin.

Battalion Chief Jobie Gause with North Whidbey Fire and Rescue oversaw the dramatic rescue attempt.

Coast Guard Petty Officer Steve Strohmaier said it’s unclear why the man was out in such bad weather in a boat. Gusts in the area were clocked at up to 50 knots, which is 57.5 mph. Swells were six feet high and more.

Fire Chief Chris Swiger said the department’s marine search and rescue team initially received a call at about 8 p.m. on Tuesday about a vessel in distress off Polnell Point. Gause said the marine rescue team made contact with the man and tried to talk him off the boat, but he refused. Instead, the boat was anchored in the area of the Seaplane Base.

Just before 1 a.m., the man called 911 in a panic to report that he had pulled anchor and gotten back underway, but the boat was taking on water, according to the Island County Sheriff’s Office.

Gause said the fire department’s two boats were launched immediately from the Oak Harbor Marina and he took overwatch from Maylor Point. From this position, Gause could see flares and a large flashlight from the boat.

The sheriff’s office reported that a “marine asset” witnessed the vessel sink below the waterline.

“North Whidbey Fire and Rescue illuminated with a white flash light in the direction of the vessel and received a white light back in response from an individual in the water,” the sheriff’s office reported.

An emergency dispatcher continued to speak to the man on his cell phone until it went dead. Gause said the lights from the boat also disappeared.

Strohmaier said the Coast Guard activated a MH-65 helicopter out of Port Angeles, but the rescue effort was challenging in the harsh weather and the man wasn’t located. Gause said the wind nearly pushed the helicopter into a bluff at one point. He said the helicopter had night vision but the crew was hindered by the reflection off the wash.

The Coast Guard helicopter was nearly out of fuel when “no joy” was declared and the helicopter left the area, Gause said.

According to the battalion chief, the department has a former Coast Guard boat that can handle extreme weather, but it can’t go close to shore. The other boat is smaller and can venture near shore, but it battered in the high seas and nearly ran aground.

After the helicopter left, Gause said he also told his crews that they should come in because the conditions were too dangerous to continue the search, but they didn’t want to give up and asked to continue the search for another half an hour. He agreed after the searchers found debris in the water.

“We have a hell of a team,” Gause said. “A lot of experience, a lot of knowledge of the area. We did everything we possibly could.”

Gause said “brave men and women” of the marine rescue team and the helicopter crew risked their lives to search during extremely dangerous weather.

Before sunrise that morning, the Coast Guard trailered a 29-foot boat to Oak Harbor to search the area. The Navy SAR helicopter and an Island County Sheriff’s Office boat also continued the search. The missing vessel was found with its bow sticking out of the water about 250 years east of Maylor Point.