Juneau man Oscar Griffin found dead after two-day search

Oscar Griffin, a Juneau man who had been missing for three days, was found dead early Thursday by the volunteer K-9 team searching for him — the morning after fireworks forced their search dog to stand down.

Griffin was last seen leaving his home around 6 a.m. on June 29. Alaska State Troopers took the missing-person report on July 1 and called in SEADOGS, the all-volunteer Southeast Alaska Dogs Organized for Ground Search, to run a scent track from the residence. Fireworks that evening disrupted the dog's work, and the search paused until first light. At about 6:30 a.m. Thursday, the team reported it had found Griffin, deceased. The Juneau Police Department is handling the death investigation, and troopers notified his next of kin.

SEADOGS has been the troopers' call for the lost and missing across Southeast Alaska since 1978, when the group formed after a child died in the wilderness above Juneau. Its certified handlers and dogs are on call around the clock, responding to wilderness, water, avalanche, and recovery searches across the region and beyond.