Oregon man found dead after falling from remote Alaska cannery dock
By KTVA CBS 11 News
12:58 PM May 11, 2017
An Oregon man working at a remote Alaska cannery died Wednesday, after falling off of the cannery dock 15 feet during low tide, according to Alaska State Troopers.
In a dispatch from the agency, they wrote that they were notified of a body found at the beach, near the Togiak Fisheries Cannery in Twin Hills, at 6:25 p.m. Wednesday. Troopers said James Schneider, 56, was found face down in the mud. His co-workers attempted CPR for 20 to 30 minutes before staff from the Kanakanak Hospital, in Dillingham pronounced him dead.
A Togiak village public safety officer and troopers responded.
No foul play is suspected. His remains will be sent to the Medical Examiner’s office in Anchorage.
The investigation is ongoing.
The North Pacific Seafoods plant in Togiak is known as Togiak Fisheries. The plant is located on Togiak Bay in the Bristol Bay region of Alaska.
It lies near the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge and is the gateway to Walrus Island Game Sanctuary.
There are two neighboring Alaska Native villages within sight of the plant.
Togiak Village (pop. 804) is approximately 2.5 miles across Togiak Bay from the plant and can be reached only by boat or plane. Twin Hills (pop. 80) is six miles from the plant and can be accessed by 4-wheel drive vehicle.
Both villages are traditional Yup’ik Eskimo communities with a fishing and subsistence lifestyle.
Togiak Bay is located about 67 miles west of Dillingham, or about 30 minute plane flight. Dillingham is about 329 miles southwest of Anchorage.
The Togiak plant was purchased by North Pacific in 1996. Today, the plant processes herring during early May, and salmon, halibut, and salmon roe from mid-June until the end of July.