Evidence suggests an accidental fire may have forced a missing 42-year-old man to abandon his 30-foot sloop that fishermen found floating last week 19 miles off the Kaua‘i coast. Darrin Bunker, a novice sailor who family members described as a
Evidence suggests an accidental fire may have forced a missing 42-year-old man to abandon his 30-foot sloop that fishermen found floating last week 19 miles off the Kaua‘i coast.
Darrin Bunker, a novice sailor who family members described as a loner involved in computers, left Dana Point, Calif., three months ago on a refurbished 1979 sailboat.
But the recently bought “Bug Trap” never reached San Diego, its reported destination 60 miles south on the California coast. The video game creator and former IT manager had indicated to Narik McArthur that he might live on his new boat there.
McArthur — the 31-year-old San Juan Capistrano, Calif., contractor who sold him the Catalina sloop — told Bunker’s father a likely theory regarding the accident: The unseasoned boat captain may have fallen asleep with a cigarette.
When he awoke to a fire, Donald Bunker said in an interview Friday, “out of sheer panic he may have jumped overboard to douse himself.”
It would have been difficult to climb back onboard considering it is 4 feet from the deck to the waterline, McArthur has said.
Coast Guard Petty Officer Kai Christensen finds this theory plausible, according to media reports. He could not be reached for comment by press time.
“We can draw all kinds of conclusions. He could’ve gotten himself on fire and jumped in the water, or he could’ve fallen overboard. We just don’t know,” Christensen told the Los Angeles Times yesterday.
Puhi residents Hank and Hans Zeevat discovered the unmanned vessel while fishing for mahi-mahi on Jan. 6 — some 2,500 miles from Baja California.
Coast Guard photos obtained by The Garden Island yesterday reveal a broken mast, busted sail and the cabin in total disarray.
Cases of Corona, cartons of cigarettes, DVDs, soda and a laptop fill the well-stocked boat, but a singed radio, melted plastic and scorched cushions provide the real areas of concern for authorities, Bunker said.
The father said his son had paid McArthur a $9,000 downpayment and planned to pay the rest of the $18,000 sale price when he arrived in San Diego.
After a month went by and McArthur still had heard nothing, “he thought he had been stiffed,” Bunker said.
But then McArthur received a call from the Coast Guard, as the boat was still in his name. Photos show stickers on the side indicating it was properly registered and certified safe.
Authorities said they do not suspect foul play and are continuing to investigate. The Coast Guard called off a search for Bunker this week after deciding the possible area was too widespread.
No missing persons report has been filed, Bunker said, because family members don’t have a last known address to determine a point of origin. All that exists are two post office boxes in Dana Point and Aliso Viejo, Calif.
The “good news,” the father said, is authorities plan to bag up and send him Bunker’s personal stuff found on the boat after they complete their investigations.
Bunker said he plans to look through his son’s paperwork for clues.
The last time the father said he saw his son was last summer.
The father said he asked Orange County sheriff’s deputies to look for his son’s car, a 1995 or so blue Mazda Miata convertible with personalized Michigan license plates.
Bunker said his son lived in Brighton, Mich., for about a decade until he lost his apartment because the building was being torn down.
“He’s been moving around ever since,” he said.
According to Bunker, his son quit a department head IT job in Michigan and lived off investments.
“He’s very smart, knew how to handle money, live frugally,” said Bunker, a retired electrical engineer who moved to Arizona from Michigan about three years ago. “He just got in over his head with this boat situation. I didn’t even know he liked boats.”
The missing man ran an online company called POSSe Entertainment. One of the most recent updates on the Web site for the Dragons and Legends game the company developed says investors are being sought and a “small amount of capital” had been secured.
The younger Bunker has two brothers and a sister. His mother and father are divorced.
A Coast Guard spokesman said Bunker’s mother and sister, who live in Michigan, told investigators they had not spoken to him for more than 2 and a half years, media outlets reported.
“Over the years, he’s kind of been that way,” Bunker said.
