Searchers

The body of a missing Coast Guardsman stationed in Kodiak was found Christmas Day on nearby Barometer Mountain, three days after he told his friends he was going to hike the popular peak. According to Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Beth Ipsen, 20-year-old Derek Winn Russell of Hollis Center, Maine was found dead at about 2 p.m. Tuesday. Searchers first located Russell's ice axe on the mountain, then found him in a slide area about 1,000 feet below. The search for Russell began Sunday evening, when troopers were alerted that Russell hadn't been seen since leaving to hike the mountain Saturday.

Searchers are looking for a man missing nearly a week, after his truck was found near the Parks Highway Thursday. Rob Gage, 33, was last seen on July 15 in Healy. He didn't show up for work at his Alaska Railroad job Saturday - unlike him, according to his family and coworkers. Trooper spokesperson Megan Peters says Gage's truck was located at mile 275 of the Parks Highway on Thursday, on a trail near the Rex Bridge. Ground searchers and dogs are actively looking for Gage as of Thursday afternoon.

Searchers found the body of Austrian climber Juergen Kanzian on Mount McKinley after using a high-powered spotting scope Thursday evening. National Park Service rangers located Kanzian's body from a helicopter by identifying the color and style of his gear, according to Denali National Park spokesperson Maureen McLaughlin. They were unable to recover the body because of steep terrain. Kanzian, a 41-year-old mountaineering guide in the Alps, told other climbers he intended to ski from the summit down a standard route called the West Buttress.

Alaska State Troopers say the bodies of three people who were reported missing from Newtok Saturday were found Sunday in a pond near the Newtok airport. George Earviak Sr., 67, George Earviak Jr., 10, and Teddy Earviak, 8, left Newtok Saturday morning on a snow machine to set blackfish traps in lakes north of Newtok. Recent snowfall has covered the missing tracks, and officials say the ice conditions on the lakes and rivers in the area are dangerous. Troopers worked with the Civil Air Patrol and the National Guard to conduct an air and ground search for the Earviaks.

The search for a suspect in a vehicle theft was suspended Monday night after two members of the search team had to be taken to a hospital for non-life threatening injuries. Alaska State Troopers, Anchorage Police and other agencies searched along a section of the Seward Highway near mile 77 Monday afternoon and night for a felony eluding suspect, who fled in the Portage area after being stopped for driving a stolen vehicle. According to AST spokesperson Megan Peters, the search was suspended at around 8:45 p.m. when two of the searchers required medical attention.

A search of Mount Marathon near Seward resumed Saturday morning after being suspended Friday evening for Michael LeMaitre, the 66-year-old runner last seen during the 85th annual Mount Marathon footrace Wednesday. Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Beth Ipsen and searchers say the footrace's trail and its surroundings were thoroughly searched Thursday and Friday, despite searchers reporting difficulties including poor visibility, rockslides and encounters with two black bears. Saturday's efforts, with at least 65 searchers on the mountain being aided by clearer weather,  focused on areas of Mount Marathon not yet explored.

Search efforts near Kotzebue for two snowmachiners who have been missing for more than a week have been reduced to ground volunteers, according to state officials. Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Megan Peters says that as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, troopers ceased their funding of the search for Shallain Adams, 23, and Clifford Griest, 32. The two left Kotzebue headed for Selawik at 2 a.m. May 15, riding a black Polaris IQ snowmachine. According to Peters, no sign of Adams or Griest has been found since the search for them began, with poor conditions frequently grounding aircraft and hampering ground searchers' efforts.

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 14-year-old boy in Kipnuk died of exposure while walking home from a friend's house on Sunday, according to Alaska State Troopers. The temperature was reportedly 50 below zero, with winds up to 70 mph. Troopers said a search was initiated after Brandon Anaver failed to turn up at his home.  The search team was able to find Anaver's footprints, but could not follow them because of blowing snow. The searchers also used VHF radio and conducted home-to-home inspections until the deteriorating conditions forced searchers to call off the search for the night.

A Noatak snowmachiner is missing after becoming separated from another snowmachiner during a Saturday trip home from Kivalina, with searchers still looking Monday. Alaska State Troopers in Kotzebue were informed at about 9 p.m. Saturday by Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue that two snowmachiners -- Noatak residents Lonnie Arnold, 21, and Jerome Onalik, 22 -- had left Kivalina headed for Noatak at about 1 p.m., but were reported overdue. The two were reportedly dressed for the conditions and riding snowmachines in good working order.

Search efforts near Kotzebue for two snowmachiners who have been missing for more than a week have been reduced to ground volunteers, according to state officials. Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Megan Peters says that as of 5 p.m. Wednesday, troopers ceased their funding of the search for Shallain Adams, 23, and Clifford Griest, 32. The two left Kotzebue headed for Selawik at 2 a.m. May 15, riding a black Polaris IQ snowmachine. According to Peters, no sign of Adams or Griest has been found since the search for them began, with poor conditions frequently grounding aircraft and hampering ground searchers' efforts.

Alaska State Troopers say search efforts continued Monday for two snowmachiners last seen more than five days ago, with poor conditions still hindering attempts to locate them. According to AST spokesperson Megan Peters, all air assets in the search for Noorvik resident Shallain Adams, 23, and 32-year-old Clifford Griest of Selawik were grounded Monday by bad weather. “We've got dedicated ground searchers and their efforts have been quite frankly heroic, but there haven't been any confirmed signs of them,” Peters said.

STORY UPDATED AT 7:52 p.m. at 5/19/13: Alaska State Troopers say weather continues to hamper the search for two snowmachiners near Kotzebue. Shallain Adams, 23 of Noorvik, and Clifford Griest, 32 of Selawik, left Kotzebue early Wednesday morning on a black Polaris IQ snowmachine destined for Selawik. Over 70 searchers from Kotzebue, Selawik, Noorvik, Kiana, Noatak and Buckland have been involved in the ground search, but “efforts have been hampered by periodic bad weather. On Saturday, an Alaska wildlife trooper flew for a couple of hours before fog and blowing snow turned the pilot back.

Bethel Search and Rescue volunteers say two brothers who were caught in a snowstorm Monday and reported missing have been found alive, after they reportedly spent two nights outdoors in the vicinity. According to an update posted at 11 a.m. Wednesday on Bethel Search and Rescue website BethelSAR.org, Phillip and Sam Charlie, 18 and 16 respectively, were found near the juncture of the Johnson River and a lake called Nunvarnaq. Alaska National Guard spokesperson Kalei Rupp says an Alaska State Troopers aircraft saw the brothers several hours into resumed search operations which began at 7 a.m. Wednesday.

The body of a missing Coast Guardsman stationed in Kodiak was found Christmas Day on nearby Barometer Mountain, three days after he told his friends he was going to hike the popular peak. According to Alaska State Troopers spokesperson Beth Ipsen, 20-year-old Derek Winn Russell of Hollis Center, Maine was found dead at about 2 p.m. Tuesday. Searchers first located Russell's ice axe on the mountain, then found him in a slide area about 1,000 feet below. The search for Russell began Sunday evening, when troopers were alerted that Russell hadn't been seen since leaving to hike the mountain Saturday.

The search for a suspect in a vehicle theft was suspended Monday night after two members of the search team had to be taken to a hospital for non-life threatening injuries. Alaska State Troopers, Anchorage Police and other agencies searched along a section of the Seward Highway near mile 77 Monday afternoon and night for a felony eluding suspect, who fled in the Portage area after being stopped for driving a stolen vehicle. According to AST spokesperson Megan Peters, the search was suspended at around 8:45 p.m. when two of the searchers required medical attention.

Searchers for Valerie Sifsof told Alaska State Troopers Sunday they had found a sweatshirt that belonged to her, the latest development in a three-month-long search for the missing woman. According to a Monday AST dispatch, Sifsof's family said the sweatshirt was discovered on the bank of Six Mile Creek, about half a mile downriver from the Granite Creek Campground. A search of the area involving more than two dozen people took place Sunday, with lines of people walking side-by-side and boaters checking nearby waterways.

A reward fund in the case of missing woman Valerie Sifsof has grown to reach $27,100, as friends and family continue to seek her safe return nearly a month after her disappearance from a campground on the Seward Highway. Sifsof, 43, was last seen at the Granite Creek Campground, at Mile 64 of the Seward, in the early hours of July 8. Family members say she became upset with her boyfriend and walked away from their campsite, leaving behind her keys, identification and cellphone. Sifsof's boyfriend was unable to locate her later that morning, prompting Alaska State Troopers and volunteers to conduct an active search in the area.

A missing Kwethluk man's body was found in the Eenayarak River on Sunday afternoon, after he was reported overdue Friday from berry picking with his wife. Alaska State Troopers in Bethel were informed at about noon Friday that Yako Fisher, 34, had last been seen headed downstream in a blue 16-foot Lund boat with a 60-horsepower Yamaha motor on the Eenayarak, at a point about 25 miles upstream from the Kuskokwim River and north of Eek. Searchers found Fisher's boat about 12 or 13 miles downstream on Friday night, but continuing efforts to locate Fisher were hampered by heavy rain and high winds into Sunday.

Searchers are looking for a missing Anchorage woman who was last seen early Sunday at a campground on the Seward Highway, according to Alaska State Troopers. Troopers were notified Wednesday that 43-year-old Valerie Sifsof had been camping Saturday with another person at the Granite Creek Campground, near Mile 64 of the Seward, when she became upset and walked away from the campsite at about midnight. The other camper tried to find Sifsof, who reportedly left behind her keys, identification and cellphone, but left the campground at about noon Sunday.