Manokotak man arrested on murder charge after fishing-site death

A Manokotak man has died after an altercation at a fishing site near the Igushik River, and a second Manokotak man now faces murder and manslaughter charges in what Alaska State Troopers are investigating as a criminal homicide.

Troopers were notified of an unresponsive man at the site at 4 p.m. on June 26. They determined that Henry Ayojiak, 38, had struck Cody Ayojiak, 35, in the head with an anchor during an altercation between the two. Both men were from Manokotak, a small village in Southwest Alaska.

Cody Ayojiak was medevaced first to a Dillingham hospital, then to an Anchorage facility for higher-level care. He was declared dead in Anchorage on July 4. The altercation happened during an active commercial fishing period on the Igushik.

A grand jury indicted Henry Ayojiak on July 9 on charges of second-degree murder and manslaughter. He was arrested July 15 and remanded to the Dillingham jail. The charges are accusations, and he is presumed innocent unless proven guilty.

Next of kin have been notified, troopers said.