Video: Fishing boat captain's widow sheds new light on tragedy

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SEATTLE – The widow of a fishing boat captain says her husband died as a hero.

After talking with rescuers and survivors of the Alaska Ranger, Patricia Jacobsen is also shedding new light on what happened with the Seattle-based vessel that sank in the Bering Sea over the weekend.

"We just never though we'd get that knock on our door," said Patricia, who learned the tragic news about her husband, Peter, on Easter Sunday.

Patricia says a survivor told her that Peter made sure his crew put on survival suits as the Alaska Ranger was going down.

"My husband was instrumental in helping them, he was a true captain," said Patricia.

By the time the Coast Guard arrived, the ship was down and survivors were spread out over a mile. Forty-two people survived. Jacobsen is believed to be the last one off the ship. He and four others did not survive. They are chief engineer Daniel Cook, mate David Silveira, crewman Byron Carrillo and Satashi Konno.

"My dad helped everyone and helped a lot of people get off the boat and that's what he did and we lost our dad, but there's 42 people that have a dad or husband," said Erica Jacobsen, Peter's daughter.

"I want the whole world to know how proud and how thankful he was to have him in our lives," said Patricia. "He was a hero and he was a very proud, proud man."

Jacobsen's mayday call said the rudder room was filling with water. A Coast Guard spokesperson says investigators are trying to determine why the water spread so quickly through the rest of the ship.

Patricia also says she holds no anger or ill will toward the Fishing Company of Alaska, which owned the Alaska Ranger.