Tests Indicate That Victims of Capsizing had Meth in Their Systems

Tillamook Bar, where the capsizing happened Photo Courtesy: U.S. Army

(TILLAMOOK - AP) - The state medical examiner says three men who died when a crabbing boat capsized near the mouth of Tillamook Bay last month had methamphetamine in their bodies.

According to the state medical examiner's office, the captain of the boat, 32-year-old Craig Larsen, of Hammond, had toxic levels of the drug in his system.

Larsen's crew members, 30-year-old Jeff King and 30-year-old Trona Griffin, both of Garibaldi, had lesser amounts of the drug in their systems.

All three men tested positive for marijuana and Larsen and Griffin had a small amount of alcohol in their systems.

Officials say it will remain a mystery if the drug use played a role in the Catherine M going down.

The men were headed across the rough Tillamook Bay bar with a 12-hundred-pound load of crab when the boat ran into trouble.

The bodies later washed ashore.