BY MIKE STEVENS
BAHIA ASUNCION, BCM – After an exhaustive search spanning several days involving the U.S Coast Guard, Mexican Navy, private boat operators, drones, two land-based high-power radar systems and manned aircraft, the search for a popular San Diego-based fishing personality was called off. Sources close to the situation told Western Outdoor News that the body of Michael Rijavec of the YouTube channel, “SD Fish and Sips” was found by a local fisherman working near San Cristóbal fishing camp in Bahia Tortuga Sunday morning.
Rijavec’s last known position was 8 miles off San Roque near Bahia Asuncion in Baja per his mayday call that was issued at approximately 3 p.m. on November 11. A very rough estimate of where the distress call was made and where he was located suggests he was found up to if not exceeding 40 miles from his last known position.
“Along with US and Mexican authorities, the local fishing community has rallied a tremendous search and rescue effort to bring Mikey home safe,” said his brother, Gregory Rijavec in a GoFundMe campaign he launched to help fund the search operation. “We are scrambling to use all resources available including boats and aircraft. In order to escalate this effortn we are welcoming donations to cover the cost of gas and pilots.”
A day after Rijavec went missing, his kayak was found floating upside down. SD Fish and Sips had over 20,000 subscribers and 550 videos, many of which featured the Solo Skiff that he was fishing from when he was lost at sea. As of November 16 (the day his body was found), the GoFundMe campaign had brought in just under $48,000.
On November 15, Shari Bondy, owner/operator of La Bufadora Inn in Bahia Asuncion, posted the following “official update from Mikey’s family” on her Facebook page:
We hope you understand that our priority has been to coordinate our efforts directly to search so far and navigate a very chaotic situation we never thought we’d be in, as well as support each other as a family. We’ve had dozens of local boats in the water in coordination with the Navy and hired private planes to provide aerial support for this search, as well as ground searches along the coast. With that said, there has been a lot of activity on social media, which just goes to show how widely loved Mikey is, but much of that information is speculative and potentially confusing to everyone eager to know what’s going on.
Our family has been actively co-leading the local response alongside the Mexican Navy and community organization. Yesterday, Mikey’s older brother and Dad arrived in Bahía Asunción to a loving embrace by the locals and have met with the Navy’s leadership this morning. During which, we have received additional details about Mikey’s disappearance from the Navy, which we cannot share publicly. The Navy is going to continue their search in the same manner today as they have since his disappearance, however, local teams are decreasing the number of personnel on the water and have started combing all local beaches.
Unfortunately, given the information provided to our family this morning by the Navy, the nature of the search may change soon.
Ultimately, Bondy posted another update on behalf of Mikey Rijavek’s family on Sunday (Nov. 16) which offered some clarification as to what happened.
Thank you, everyone. Thank you for searching, thank you for donating, thank you for praying, thank you for hoping, thank you for supporting in any way. Our family has not been alone during this time, and we are forever grateful for that. We want to hear, “Good morning, good morning, good morning” “Troll Hard” “Yeah buddy” “Living the dream” “YEW!” from Mikey again, but it is time to end the search.
So far, our family has only publicly shared information we knew was necessary and productive to finding Mikey while the search was still ongoing. There were, and continue to be missing pieces and details to be confirmed, however, those directly involved in the search have had access to the information as it was available and exhausted every effort. We understand that people want to know more details of what happened, and here is what we know for certain.
On November 11, at approximately 3:00 pm, Mikey issued a distress call on the radio. He had engine issues, and while trying to fix the issue, his motor dislodged causing his skiff to flip. He was able to upright the skiff and begin paddling, but his skiff had taken on water. We know nothing about what happened to Mikey after that. The distress call was heard by local fishermen. The signal was weak, and the message was not clear, but it was obvious that he needed help. The local fishermen immediately responded and began searching for him, and the US Coast Guard and Mexican Navy/Coast Guard were also immediately notified. Boats continued to search late into the night with no results. The following day, search efforts escalated which included dozens of local boats, every possible resource of the MX Navy, private planes providing aerial support, and ground search efforts by local authorities and community members. The search continued for four days, during which Mikey’s skiff was recovered, but ended on Saturday, November 15.
This still leaves us with a lot of questions we may never have the answers to. We wanted to share this information to help provide some closure, but it does not change what happened or could have happened, and speculation robs us of what is important. Right now more than ever we need to remember Mikey’s lessons. Mikey’s lessons are to practice mindfulness, positivity, and most importantly to recognize the things we can’t control. It’s one thing to learn these lessons, but it’s extremely difficult to practice them. There are a lot of “what ifs” we don’t have control over and never did. We strongly believe that everyone did everything possible to bring Mikey home safe. Mikey practiced gratitude, and we do the same. Today and everyday, stay positive.
