"Deadliest Catch" Star Wants Answers On Missing Dad

'Deadliest Catch' Star Wants Answers on Missing Dad

Updated: 13 hours 38 minutes ago

David Lohr, AOL News Contributor

AOL News (March 10) -- A star of the Discovery Channel's hit reality series "Deadliest Catch" is appealing to the public for help in finding his father, who has been missing for two months.

"I just want to know what happened to my dad," Jake Anderson, a deckhand on the F/V Northwestern crab fishing boat, told AOL News. "I want to bring my father home. He wouldn't give up on us, and I'm not going to give up on him. I just don't know what to do. We need help, and I hope that someone out there will help give us some sort of closure."

Keith Anderson, a 63-year-old retired high school counselor from Anacortes, Wash., disappeared Jan. 6. Jake Anderson was on the Northwestern, crab fishing in the Bering Sea, but Keith's brother Chris saw him that day.

"He came to my house that morning, and we had our regular cup of coffee together," Chris Anderson said. "Afterward, he ran some errands for his family and moved a washer and dryer for one of his daughters. He then went to meet an acquaintance."

According to Chris and Jake, the "acquaintance" Keith went to meet was going to provide him with Oxycontin, a powerful prescription painkiller. The Andersons said he was in constant pain and suffering from bouts of depression.

"He was originally prescribed it for a rotator cuff surgery; then, about six months later, he broke four ribs and it was prescribed again," Chris said. "In my personal opinion, they [doctors] give it out too easy. He had been fighting to get off the drug, but it was difficult with the pain he was experiencing, coupled with the pressures he was under."

Those pressures included the approach of the one-year anniversary of his daughter's death. On Feb. 13, 2009, Keith's daughter, 37-year-old Chelsea Dawn Anderson, died unexpectedly from complications of pneumonia. She had suffered most of her life with rheumatoid arthritis.

"He always felt that my sister's disease was his fault," Jake said. "He always took care of her, and he never liked to see kids hurt. He would rather be the one hurting."

At about 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 6, Keith left Anacortes to meet his acquaintance in the Arlington, Wash., area, Chris said.

"Normally, he would go out and get the pills and be back about three or four hours later, but, that day, he never came back," Chris said. "One of his acquaintances later said he last saw him in Sultan, which is about 120 miles from where he lives, and that was the last time anyone claims to have seen him."

When Keith failed to return home that night, his family became concerned. In the 43 years he had been married, he had never spent a night away from his wife. Concern turned to fear when Keith's wife found his cell phone lying in a mud puddle by their house.

The family notified police and, with the help of volunteers, put up missing-person posters. Authorities determined there had been no activity on any of Keith's bank and credit card accounts. They also sought out the acquaintance Keith planned to visit on the day he disappeared.

"[We] talked to that young man and according to him there was a transaction that took place," Anacortes police Capt. John Small told AOL News. "It sounded like Keith got what he needed and [the guy] dumped Keith off at a grocery store parking lot. He said that was the last he saw [Keith]."

On Jan. 13, around 200 people gathered at Causland Park for a candlelight vigil for Keith Anderson.

"We are here because of our love and concern about Keith," the Rev. Terry Kyllo of Celebration Lutheran Church said during the event. "We all feel anxiety and fear because we don't know where he is."

Former students of Anacortes High School, where Keith had worked for 23 years as a counselor, have also offered their support to the family.

"When I read [about] it on Facebook, I was almost crying. He was such a great guy that I don't see any bad things happening to him," Shannah McGinnis told KOMOnews.com. "He needs to be home with his family."

The mystery took another turn on Jan. 22, when his white 1999 Ford Ranger pickup was found abandoned 11 miles up a remote logging road northwest of Darrington.

"It's not an easily assessable location," Chris said. "The area had been clear-cut within the last 10 years."

When the truck was found, it was high-centered -- stuck between two logs.

"Someone had tried to get it out," Chris said. "You can see where it dug in. There was a rut on each side of the road."

According to Chris, the truck was locked and the keys were found inside.

In a press release detailing the find, Anacortes Police Chief Bonnie Bowers said there were no signs of foul play -- a statement both Chris and Jake contest.

"The keys that were left in the truck had blood on them, but the detectives won't give us any more information about them," Jake said.

Small confirmed to AOL News that blood was found, but said it was a "minuscule amount."

"The sheriff's office did the search of the vehicle found, it wasn't us," Small said. "[They] thought somebody might have cut their finger. That is how small the amount of blood was in the vehicle."

Small said investigators have been unable to determine if the blood was Keith's or someone else's.

Following the truck's discovery, Anacortes police, the Skagit County Sheriff's Department and Search & Rescue launched an extensive ground search in the area, but were unable to locate Keith or any clues to his disappearance.

Did Keith Anderson drive down the logging road intentionally or was he the victim of foul play?

"Both those are possibilities," Small said. "But again, we have no evidence a drug deal went bad. No evidence of anything really. The best-case scenario is that Keith drove up there and walked off, but it bothers us that nothing has come up in this case [and] no one has reported seeing him or anything."

Jake and Chris both believe foul play is the most probable explanation.

"I know my brother, and when he takes those pills, he doesn't take them till he gets home because he can hardly walk up the steps of the house," Chris said. "That place where they found the truck, everybody that knows my brother knows that he would have never driven the truck to that location."

When contacted by AOL News, Snohomish County Sheriff's Sgt. Danny Wikstrom refused to comment on the case. Small, the Anacortes police captain, said it is still an active case.

"It's still an open investigation but leads are few and far between right now," Small said. "We would like to see this come to a close. We would love to find Keith alive somewhere, but that is probably getting slimmer and slimmer now."

In an effort to generate leads, Jake is trying to collect donations to offer a reward for information in the case.

"I got four sisters left, and we don't have that much money," Jake said. "Practically everything I bring home goes to them and everyone else. I really don't have much money to give a reward, so that really bothers me."

Anyone interested in donating to the reward fund can do so at any US Bank location or online. The account is set up under the name "Keith Anderson."

The family has reached out to 3View Search Services, a nonprofit missing-person search and recovery group from Indiana. The group is working with law enforcement in Washington state to try to organize a large-scale professional search effort.

"We have been in contact with the family for about three weeks," Mandy Albritton, co-founder of 3View, told AOL News. "We are more than willing to assist them in any way possible. My associate, Sean Henady, is currently in talks with the law enforcement agency that is handling the case, and we are working to determine how our services can best assist them in the search."

For now, Jake and his family will continue to hold out hope that they will discover what happened to their missing loved one.

"My relationship with my dad has always been good," Jake said. "He is the one who taught me how to work hard and earn everything. He has always taken good care of my mom and all the kids. He was a real family man. I miss him and want to know what happened."

Wow, seems like crazy things are happening to the fleet this year. This was the guy who's sister died during the season last year.

That's sad to hear. I'm a fanatic of the show, and I've always liked Jake.