Missing Since: 1986-01-25 Location: Anacortes, Washington
Mitchell was last seen in Anacortes, Washington on January 25, 1986. He and two friends, Keith Humenik and Anthony Beirnes, went out on the ocean in a borrowed homemade White aluminum skiff, ten or eleven feet in size, with a 7 1/2 horsepower engine. The skiff had six gallons of gasoline in the tank when they set off in calm, sunny weather. They planned to travel to Young Island, which was only one and a half miles away. The boys were last seen near Fidalgo Island. It was supposed to be only a short trip, but none of them returned to shore or were ever heard from again. Searchers found one of the skiff’s oars on the south side of Burrows Island, but this was the only trace of the missing boys that was ever located. Both the Zimny family and the Beirnes family had suffered losses before in fishing accidents. Mitchell’s older brother was a relief skipper on a commercial fishing vessel that was lost off the coast of Alaska in November 1985, and Anthony’s father was the captain of a crabbing vessel that sank off the coast of Alaska in 1983. Mitchell, Anthony and Keith are presumed drowned. Their remains have never been recovered. All three were high school juniors at the time of their disappearances. Investigating Agency Skagit County Sheriff’s Office 360-336-9450 360-428-3211 Source Information NamUs Washington State Missing Persons Information The Seattle Times The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children The Nanaimo Daily News The Everett Herald The Longview Daily News Updated 7 times since October 12, 2004. Last updated October 28, 2025; details of disappearance updated.