ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Seventeen-year-old Joel Fletcher Armstrong was pronounced dead early Saturday morning after a group of friends brought him to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center, says Megan Peters, spokesperson for Alaska State Troopers. The group went camping Friday evening at the Knik River Campground, and troopers believe they were drinking and that alcohol was a factor in Armstrong's death.
"Friends said that they woke up and found him unresponsive, cold to the touch," said Peters. "Unfortunately he wasn't able to be revived."
Armstrong is the son of two longtime Anchorage School District teachers. He had just wrapped up his junior year at Chugiak High School.
"It's just always such a tragedy, when you've got young people in the prime of their life and things happen, and now he's gone and I'm just feeling so sad for the parents," said Carol Comeau, Anchorage School District Superintendent.
Troopers say that Armstrong's death is a reminder that people need to be safe, and smart when recreating.
