2 people who died after sailboat capsized identified

ASTORIA, Ore. — Officials say a couple from Astoria died Sunday when their boat capsized and ran aground on Nedonna Beach south of Manzanita on the Oregon coast.

The Astorian reports Shirley Payne, 76, and Allen Payne, 79, set sail from Astoria in the early morning hours, their son told the Tillamook County Sheriff’s Office.

The Paynes kept their a 42-foot pleasure boat named Bagheera at an Astoria pier.

They were heading toward San Francisco when around 7 p.m. that night, witnesses reported the boat tossing in the surf, according to the sheriff’s office.

Shirley Payne washed ashore and was found unconscious. Medical responders were unable to revive her. Allen Payne was found tangled in rope outside the boat, near the propeller, deceased, according to the sheriff’s office.

They were the only people known to be onboard.

The sheriff’s office does not suspect foul play, but the investigation continues, the agency said.

The waters just south of the south Nehalem jetty are known to be treacherous, Paul Fournier, an investigator and public information officer with the sheriff’s office, said. Several boating accidents have happened in the area in recent years.