Two missing after boat overturns near Bethel

Two people are missing after their boat overturned near Steamboat Slough outside Bethel on Tuesday afternoon. The Alaska State Troopers said the search remains active.

The Bethel Police Department notified troopers at 4 p.m. on Sept. 15. Bethel Search and Rescue was also notified. Search efforts began that afternoon and continued into Wednesday. The Department of Public Safety posted the report Wednesday morning and listed the search as ongoing. The dispatch does not identify the two people. It also does not describe the boat or say whether anyone else was aboard.

Bethel Search and Rescue is an all-volunteer group that responds to missing person calls in the Bethel area. The group assists the Alaska State Troopers, the Bethel Police Department and Village Public Safety Officers in surrounding villages, according to the organization's public description of its work. The same volunteers mark trails and open water. They also run a river camera on the Kuskokwim. BSAR's outreach materials describe that trail and open-water marking, along with local river knowledge, as central to water safety around Bethel.

To report a missing person in the Bethel region, residents are asked to call 911 or Bethel Search and Rescue at 907-545-HELP.