Wanted Victoria man arrested after dramatic U.S. Coast Guard rescue of stolen yacht

Jericho Labonte turned up in northwestern Oregon, leaving a bizarre trail involving dead fish, the Goonies' house, and a stolen yacht.

A Victoria man wanted on a B.C.-wide warrant has been arrested in Oregon after a dramatic rescue of a yacht caught in the rough, churning waters of the Columbia River.

Jericho Labonte is wanted by police for harassment, mischief and failure to comply from an incident in Victoria last October. Last month, Victoria police issued an alert seeking the public’s assistance in locating the 36-year-old, who they believe posed a risk to public safety.

But Labote turned up in northwestern Oregon, leaving a bizarre trail involving dead fish, the Goonies’ house, and a stolen yacht.

On Friday morning, the U.S. Coast Guard rescued a mayday call from a yacht in trouble at the mouth of the Columbia River and managed to triangulate the vessel’s location.

The rescue was captured in a stunning video which shows a rescue swimmer lowered by cable from a helicopter, swimming to the yacht struggling in heavy surf and massive waves.

As the swimmer approached the vessel, a large wave slammed into it, rolling the boat over and throwing a man, later identified as Labonte, into the water.

The swimmer reached Labonte and pulled him to safety.

Labonte was flown to a Coast Guard base where medics treated him for mild hypothermia and transported him to a hospital.

Police in Astoria, Ore. have already been looking for Labonte since Wednesday, although they didn’t know who he was at the time.

They were looking for a man who had posted a video of himself on social media placing a dead fish on the front porch of the Goonies’ house — featured in the 1985 Steven Spielberg film The Goonies and one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions — and dancing around the property, said Astoria Police Chief Stacy Kelly.

On Friday, after the rescue, police got a call from port security telling them that the vessel involved in the rescue had been stolen. At the same time, the police department also got calls from several citizens identifying the rescued victim as Labonte.

“It’s been a really odd 48 hours,” Kelly said.

By the time police identified him as the suspect, Labonte had already been released from hospital.

Police later found Labonte at a low-barrier shelter at a nearby town 18 miles south of Astoria. He was taken into custody to face charges of theft, endangering another person, unauthorized use of a vehicle and criminal mischief.

chchan@postmedia.com

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— with files from Associated Press