7 Years After He Went Missing at Sea, No Answers

BBC explores the disappearance of American Keith Davis, a fisheries observer
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Sep 6, 2022 3:00 PM CDT
7 Years After He Went Missing at Sea, No Answers
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In 2015, an American marine biologist went missing from a ship hundreds of miles off the coast of Ecuador. No sign of Keith Davis, then 41, has been seen since, and he is presumed dead, writes Rachel Monroe at the BBC. Monroe dug into the case for the Lost at Sea podcast given the unusual circumstances involved. Davis was aboard the Victoria 168, part of a Taiwanese tuna fleet. But he was no ordinary worker—he was what's known as a fisheries observer. These observers set out to sea in fishing vessels and work and live among the crew, but part of their job is to report any illegal activity they spot on the boat. As a result, the job becomes dicey and frequently dangerous. Davis is far from the only such observer to have gone missing—two did so in the months Monroe was researching this.

"What might Davis have witnessed that could've put him at risk?" writes Monroe. "The high seas, where legal jurisdiction is complex and there is little oversight, are known for illegal activity—namely trafficking in drugs and weapons and even sometimes human trafficking." Monroe makes clear that no evidence has surfaced to suggest Davis saw any such thing on his ship. Still, those close to him suspect foul play, given that he had often spoken about the dangers of his job. Official investigations into his disappearance by the FBI and the government of Panama (the ship departed from there) have yielded little. Monroe's story notes that Davis' case has been relatively high profile, unlike the disappearances of observers who did not happen to be white Americans. (Read the full story.)

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