Belmont Survivor of Capsized Boat to Return to Bay Area Friday

The Belmont man and another man who survived a boat off the Baja California coast are heading home to the San Jose area, the wife of one of the men said Thursday.

Belmont resident and his Bay Area fishing buddy Lee Ikegami are two of the fishermen who were able to get to shore after a boat operated by the fishing excursion company Baja Sportfishing Inc. sank Sunday at 2:30 a.m. in the Sea of Cortez near Isla San Luis, Mexico.

Ikegami's wife, Murphy Ikegami, who lives in San Martin, said her husband and Ng are on a Greyhound bus that will arrive in San Jose early Friday morning.

"Lee is so happy to be coming home," she said.

The two had been driving a truck from a hotel where they had been recuperating in San Felipe, Mexico, but the truck broke down near the U.S.-Mexico border, she said.

State Sen. Leland Yee, D-San Francisco, had been helping to arrange a flight for the two men, but they decided "easiest thing to do was to go to a Greyhound station," she said. "They are exhausted."

One man, Leslie Yee, died after the boat capsized. The U.S. Coast Guard and Mexican navy are continuing to search for seven missing men.

-- Bay City News