New York Sun
Sept 26 1934
From
Chronology of the Seth Parker Voyage by John Woram:
As stated in Note [1] above, the captain's name was Constantine Flink. But to add a bit of confusion to the story, the following excerpt is from a
New York Times report dated September 30, 1934 (p. S10):
Radio reports from the schooner Seth Parker promise possible solution of the disappearance in June of the tuna clipper Belle Isle, out of San Pedro. Ten men, according to the reports, were sighted on the southern shore of Gardner Island, southernmost of the Galapagos group, 400 miles off the coast of Panama. | They were thought to be natives, but when Captain John Gabelich discovered that the island is supposedly uninhabited he notified authorities. Ten ships in the vicinity have been asked to aid in determining the identity of those on the island. |
Gardner Island is neither the southernmost, nor are the Galápagos Islands 400 miles off the coast of Panama. Presumably the men were sighted on the southern shore of Isla Coco, which is 400 miles from Panama. In context, the news report implies that John Gabelich was the captain of the
Seth Parker. However, in
The History of San Diego, author Richard F. Pourade refers to “… the
Belle Isle, skippered by John Gabelich… .” From the evidence, it appears that the
New York Times got the story wrong on two counts—the name of the island, and the name of the captain.