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Rural Alaska

Search continues for Wainwright hunter missing since Dec. 15

By Alena Naiden
Updated: 16 hours ago
Published: 16 hours ago

The search for a Wainwright hunter continued Tuesday, more than a week after the person went missing.

The missing person, not identified by the officials, left Wainwright on the morning of Dec. 15 on a hunting trip and was reported overdue that night, according to a statement from the North Slope Borough. Multiple search crews from Wainwright, Atqasuk, Utqiaġvik and Point Lay searched for the hunter at local camps, cabins and hunting trails.

On Dec. 19, the Alaska Department of Public Safety activated the Alaska Dive Search, Rescue, and Recovery Team to aid in the search, said Austin McDaniel, communications director with the Alaska State Troopers.



“The North Slope Borough is leading these search efforts,” McDaniel said.

The dive team posted on Facebook that they were sending two members from Anchorage to Wainwright on Dec. 20. The divers planned to deploy with a remotely operated vehicle, sector-scanning sonar and limited dive gear, the post said.

As of the morning of Tuesday, Dec. 26, the search was still active, and six on-the-ground search and rescue teams were planning to go out to look for the hunter, according to the Wainwright Search and Rescue coordinator.

Additional information from the North Slope Borough wasn’t immediately available Tuesday.



Alena Naiden writes about communities in the North Slope and Northwest Arctic regions for the Arctic Sounder and ADN. Previously, she worked at the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.