The Coast Guard officer who saved the suspect in a bizarre series of crimes - stealing a boat and driving it into stormy seas after placing a dead fish at the "Goonies" house - has spoken about the dramatic rescue.
The Coast Guard says two aircrews got a mayday call Friday from a boat that was floundering in the surf near Cape Disappointment.
A Coast Guard boat crew was also called out, but the surf made that kind of rescue too dangerous - so they lowered a rescue swimmer into the water.
This was Petty Officer First Class Branch Walton's first rescue.
Dramatic video footage shows the stolen boat capsizing right as Walton jumped into the water.
Despite the wild and dangerous situation, he was able to keep his cool.
"I tried to duck it. I didn't get hit as bad as the boat took. It took a bigger hit for sure. And then I popped up and the crew did an amazing job of just sending the hook down immediately and relocating me right on top of the survivor, which allowed me to bring the survivor up pretty quickly, back up to the cabin, and get them to safety," Walton told KATU.
35-year-old Jericho Labonte was arrested for allegedly stealing the boat he was rescued from.
He's also suspected of leaving a large dead fish on the porch of the "Goonies" house in Astoria.