Missing Musher Found

June 11, 2011|By Kortnie Horazdovsky and Jackie Bartz | KTUU.com

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — Two days after Alaska State Troopers called off the search for a Talkeetna musher who had been missing for more than a week, a volunteer search party tracked down Melanie Gould.

Gould was found in the Cantwell area around noon Saturday, according to a friend. The volunteer search party took Gould to a nearby lodge and called Alaska State Troopers.

"Everybody is feeling so relieved, and are excited to just to have found her, and alive, that's just huge," said Amanda Randles, a friend of Gould's.

Gould saw search parties and avoided them, that's according to Trooper spokesperson Megan Peters. She was transported to Mat-Su Regional Hospital.

Randles helped create “Have You Seen Melanie Gould?”, a Facebook page that had over 3,000 followers. Saturday afternoon hundreds of people commented on Gould's safe return.

But along with the supportive comments came a wave of criticism and speculation, many people posted they wanted Gould to give them answers. The Facebook page was taken down Saturday evening.

"I just kind of blew me away," said Trisha Costello, owner of the Talkeetna Roadhouse, the restaurant where Gould worked. "I'm just happy to hear that she is safe..and waiting to hear I guess the rest."

Gould was first reported missing by friends and coworkers after she failed to show up for work Tuesday, May 31. Troopers called off the search for her after a lack of clues on Thursday.

Abby Hancock and Kortnie Horazdovsky also contributed to this report.

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