Mike Corey (Host)

Maybe those years in the Coast Guard weren't wasted on Bob Doyle after all.

Maybe he's the reason any of these men survived.

All told, the rescue operation that saved Bob Doyle, Mike DiCapua, and Gigi Mork took nine hours to complete, involving three helicopters and 13 Coast Guard rescuers.

It remains one of the most daring and elaborate rescue missions in Coast Guard history.

Mark Morley's body was recovered the next day, January 31, 1998.

Dave Hanlon's remains eventually washed up on an island over 600 miles away, where they were found by hunters that August.

An investigation by the Coast Guard concluded that the Le Conti sank due to a quote, catastrophic event that led to uncontrolled flooding into the ship's hull.

The lead investigator also noted that if Captain Mark Morley had heated weather warnings, the sinking could have been avoided.

And if the Le Conti had been equipped with a life raft, Morley and Hanlon might have survived.

The Coast Guard report recommended that the ship's owner not be investigated for criminal negligence.

And with that, the investigation was closed.

Since the Lakonti tragedy, safety regulations have gotten stricter in Alaska's commercial fishing industry.

As a result, annual deaths have declined by more than half, to an average of around nine per year.

But fishing in Alaska is still one of the most dangerous jobs in the United States.

Captain Ted Lefevre and his crew all received medals for their efforts in rescuing the survivors of the Le Conti.

After recovering from hypothermia and returning home, Bob Doyle, Mike DiCapua, and William Gigi Mork all went right back to fishing.

But in 1999, Mike took a break to fly to Spokane, Washington, where he was reunited with his daughters for the first time in two decades.

One of them had read about the Le Conti and tracked Mike down.

As for Bob Doyle, he was determined to stay in Alaska, to be close to his kids.

But eventually, he gave up fishing and drifted back to New England, where he grew up.