Bethel

A suspect in a Bethel cab driver's death is in custody on unrelated charges after a Feb. 2 arrest while an investigation remains in progress, according to Alaska State Troopers. The body of Young Suk Chong, 54, was found Feb. 1 inside her Taxi Cab Co. vehicle near the dump in Napakiak, about 15 miles from Bethel. Investigators with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation arrived in Bethel on the morning of Feb. 2 along with a crime lab technician, working with troopers and Bethel Police Department officers to conduct interviews and examine the crime scene.

A Bethel cab driver reported missing early Tuesday morning was found dead Wednesday morning in her vehicle near Napakiak, according to Alaska State Troopers. An AST dispatch issued Thursday evening says troopers in Bethel were contacted Tuesday by the Bethel Police Department, who said 54-year-old Young Suk Chong had been missing since about 3 a.m. that morning. Chong's cab, from the Taxi Cab Co., was found at about 10 a.m. Wednesday near the dump in Napakiak, roughly 15 miles southwest of Bethel.

A Tununak man headed to the village on a snowmachine Saturday was found dead Sunday by searchers, according to Alaska State Troopers. Bethel troopers were notified Saturday that 74-year-old Andrew Chikoyak had left Nunapitchuk for Tununak, but was overdue. Searchers were unable to find Chikoyak Saturday, but he was spotted Sunday by an AST aircraft out of Bethel. An Army National Guard Blackhawk helicopter based in Bethel responded to the scene, where medics declared Chikoyak dead.

A Bethel man known as “The Dragon Master” was sentenced to four years for being a felon in poession of firearms, according to the United States Attorney Karen Loeffler's office. 43-year-old John Robert Weber, also known as “Jrob,” was caught in August 2010 by Alaska State Troopers at his home and tattoo parlor in Bethel. Weber gave troopers permission to search his luggage after a trip to Anchorage and found 11 ounces of marijuana and then obtained a search warrant. Troopers found two shotguns and a rifle, 19 bottles of alchohol, a digital scale, and packaging material that appeared to be for illegal narcoctics at his residence.

A young adult walking in Emmonak was killed by a snow machine driver in early Tuesday morning, according to Alaska State Troopers. The fatal snow machine collision happened around 12:40 a.m. along the river in Emmonak. Troopers said 19-year-old Steven Levi struck 19-year-old Steve Lukudak in front of Kwik Pak Fisheries Docks as Levi walked along the river. Both men were from Emmonak. Lukudak died from his injuries and Levi was transported to Bethel for serious injuries, according to AST.  

A 4-year-old girl in a small Western Alaskan village was sexually assaulted on Saturday, according to Alaska State Troopers. Troopers received a report it happened in Kotlik at 5:00 a.m. Saturday by a family member. A child advocacy center interview has been arranged in Bethel for the victim. State Troopers from Emmonak are handling the ongoing investigation.

There was a plane crash Monday night in Southwest Alaska, but initial reports say everyone walked away. It happened near the Kwigillingok airstrip, south of Bethel, at about 6:30pm. Clint Johnson with the National Transportation Safety Board says the aircraft was a Cessna 207, operated by Hageland-Era aviation.    People in the village tell Channel 2 News they saw the plane take off, then it banked to the left and went down. The aircraft apparently hit a frozen pond, bounced up and flipped over.

Out of the thousands of photos taken of the Occupy Wall Street movement that has gone global, at least one picture is going viral, and it was taken by an Alaskan. Diane McEachern says just over a week ago, she wanted to take part in the Occupy Movement so she decided to set up her own protest, on the Bethel tundra. With her three rescue dogs by her side, and a sign in hand that read "Occupy the Tundra," McEachern snapped a picture that, unknowingly at the time, would be circulated across the internet.

The Southwest Alaska community of Bethel is mourning the loss of a longtime landmark this weekend. Bethel's last White Alice tower was knocked down on Friday, despite protests from pilots and snow machiners, who called it an important navigational aid. The 60-foot high tropospheric tower was one of Bethel's last remnants of a communications system, built by the U.S. Air Force during the height of the cold war with the...

The Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation broke ground on a long-term care facility and assisted living center in Bethel Monday. The facility will provide people in the region with access to health care and hospices services in Bethel. Before most people in the region were referred to facilities in Anchorage. Elizabeth Lee the Home Care Director for Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporations says this day was a long time coming. "it's a dream come true we will be able to take care of our elders right here at home where they want to be. " Construction is underway and crews hope to have the facility complete in December 2012.