Search & Rescue
RSSAlaska SAR operations: maritime (Coast Guard), backcountry (AST Wildlife Troopers, volunteer SAR groups), avalanche rescue, aviation SAR
Ben Le, missing since a hike at Port Armstrong on Aug. 10, was found dead at the bottom of a cliff
A hiker missing near Port Armstrong since Monday is being searched by crews that added a thermal drone team Wednesday morning after ground and aerial searches found no sign of him.
by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago1 min readAI
A viral claim about a Zuckerberg yacht and a Coast Guard call remains unverified
An unverified viral claim says a Zuckerberg-linked yacht ignored a Coast Guard call for a stranded Southeast skiff. The Coast Guard hasn't confirmed any of it.
by Maggie AlaskaNews6d ago2 min readAI
A pilot survives an upside-down plane crash in the Kenai refuge
A pilot survived a crash that flipped his plane upside down in the trees of the Kenai refuge Sunday, then texted 911 himself to say he wasn't seriously hurt.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4d ago1 min readAI
A woman lost overnight near Port Heiden was found alive, her dog by her side
A woman lost overnight near Port Heiden was found alive five miles off a trail, her dog beside her the whole time, having chased off a bear at one point.
by Maggie AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
A hiker was carried off a Hatcher Pass trail, the second rescue there this summer
An incapacitated hiker was carried off a Hatcher Pass trail Thursday by four agencies — the second rescue on the same demanding route this summer.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 4d ago1 min readAI
Troopers issue Silver Alert for missing 73-year-old near Fairbanks
Alaska State Troopers are searching for Rodney Rutherford, 73, last seen at 11:30 p.m. Friday near 4805 Murphy Dome Road outside Fairbanks. Troopers ask anyone with information to call the Fairbanks post at 907-451-5100.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
College student airlifted off Resurrection Pass after allergic reaction 14 miles in
An 18-year-old visiting student was airlifted off Resurrection Pass 14 miles from the trailhead after an allergic reaction left him unable to breathe. A military crew flew him to Anchorage.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago1 min readAI
Missing Craig hunter found alive on Prince of Wales Island
61-year-old Craig hunter who turned back alone on Red Bay Mountain was lost overnight, then found alive early Saturday and flown to Petersburg.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Helicopter sinks in Chelatna Lake; bystander pulls both survivors from water
A helicopter sank in Chelatna Lake near Skwentna on Sunday after a boater pulled both occupants from the water; both survived with minor injuries.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
Injured hiker rescued by boat along George Inlet near Ketchikan
A hiker injured in a fall near Ketchikan called for help Tuesday afternoon, and Alaska Wildlife Troopers and the Ketchikan Volunteer Rescue Squad reached him by boat and took him to a hospital.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Jedidia Atchak, 40, has been missing from Chevak since Aug. 7, and no new search has been announced
An adult male reported missing in Chevak on Aug. 7 remains missing after search efforts by local teams and rescue crews paused on Aug. 11, with Alaska State Troopers continuing to follow leads.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2d ago1 min readAI
Alaska National Guard completes 4 rescues over July 4 weekend
Alaska National Guard helicopters rescued four people over the July 4 weekend from remote Interior and Southcentral locations, including two critically ill patients and two stranded hikers.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Pilot killed in Piper Pacer crash 40 miles southeast of Cordova
A pilot flying solo between Yakutat and Fairbanks was found dead Friday after an Alaska Air National Guard helicopter located the crashed Piper Pacer near Kanak Island, about 40 miles southeast of Cordova.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
A Coast Guard rescue helicopter crashed on Harbor Mountain above Sitka
A Coast Guard rescue helicopter went down on Harbor Mountain above Sitka Monday. The road is closed, and the crew that rescues others needed it
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
A NOAA crew cut a tangled humpback free at Endicott Arm
A juvenile humpback got tangled at the mouth of Endicott Arm. A NOAA crew freed it from a small boat with knives on poles — work only 94 people nationwide are cleared to do.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Helicopter lifts stuck hiker off peak five miles southeast of Alyeska
A helicopter rescued a stranded hiker off a peak five miles southeast of Alyeska early July 28 after a nearly four-hour operation, with EMS treating him for minor injuries at Girdwood Airport.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago1 min readAI
A neighbor found the missing Butte woman walking near his home
A missing elderly Butte woman was found safe nine hours after she wandered off, spotted by a neighbor walking near his own property late Friday night.
by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readAI
Troopers recover paddleboarder's body from Turnagain Arm sandbar
Alaska State Troopers recovered the body of Joshua Novakovich, 25, from a Turnagain Arm sandbar on June 21, two days after he was swept away while paddleboarding near mile 92 of the Seward Highway.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
A fisherman found the stranded boaters before the Coast Guard could launch
A local fisherman found two overdue boaters stranded on a sandbar near Toksook Bay before the Coast Guard could even launch, a familiar story in Western Alaska.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1w ago1 min readAI
Seth Whiteman, 22, dead after going overboard near Egegik Bay
Seth Whiteman, 22, of Eagle River went overboard near Egegik Bay on June 29 and was not wearing a life jacket. His body was recovered from a nearby beach on July 11.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
A Kenai woman is mauled by a bear on her own front deck
A Kenai woman was seriously hurt when a brown bear sow attacked her on her front deck — drawn in, troopers say, by bird feeders in the yard, on a peninsula that's a bear-attack hot spot.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Denali ranger dies in crevasse fall near 14,000 Foot Camp
Robin Pendery, a National Park Service mountaineering ranger, died Thursday after falling into a crevasse near 14,000 Foot Camp on Denali.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Man believed to be Portland hiker found dead near Ketchikan's Deer Mountain Trail
A Portland hiker who called Alaska State Troopers lost near Ketchikan's Deer Mountain Trail on June 14 was found dead the next morning at the bottom of a cliff during a helicopter search.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago1 min readAI
New York hiker airlifted after head injury on Reed Lakes trail
NY resident got hurt at Reed Lakes. Be careful Reed Lakes. The rocks can get slippery.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
High water on Gulkana River forces raft party onto trail, triggers medical rescue
High water forced eight rafters off the Gulkana River on July 3, and one developed chest pains during the hike out, requiring a rescue helicopter to extract him to a hospital.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Four-wheeler breakdown strands two near Kotzebue; borough SAR unable to respond
Two people stranded near Kotzebue were rescued the morning after the Fourth — by troopers and two local volunteers, after the borough's search-and-rescue unit couldn't respond.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
Father and daughter rescued by boat from Kenai River island at mile 73
A father and daughter stranded on a Kenai River island at mile 73 on July 27 when rising water cut off their return were rescued by boat the same day.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 5d ago1 min readAI
A hiker lost his shoes in the snow near Snowbird Hut — in July
A hiker lost his shoes in the snow near Snowbird Hut on the Fourth of July, stranding his group — a reminder that it can be summer in town and still winter up on the glacier.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 1mo ago1 min readAI
Kodiak drill conductor course trains mariners to lead safety drills
Alaska Marine Safety Education Association offers a two-day Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor Course in Kodiak on May 27-28 to train commercial fishermen as certified safety leaders who can lead emergency drills and meet U.S. Coast Guard requirements.
by Alaska News2mo ago1 min readAI
Brown bear injures hiker on Bear Valley trail above south Anchorage
A brown bear injured a hiker on a social trail above Bear Valley in south Anchorage on Saturday, prompting Fish and Game to post warning signs and urge hikers to travel in groups and carry bear spray.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3w ago2 min readAI
All 4 crew rescued after Coast Guard Jayhawk crashes near Sitka
All four crew members were rescued after a Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter crashed near Sitka.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
A capsize, a night on the bank, and a morning-after airlift
Two boaters capsized on the remote, glacier-fed Killey River and spent the night on the bank — warm, fed, and in cell contact — before troopers flew them out the next day.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Two women reported overdue near Glennallen were, per troopers, 'just out enjoying Alaska'
Two women reported overdue near Glennallen turned out to be perfectly fine — or as the trooper dispatch put it, they "were just out enjoying Alaska."
by Maggie AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Juneau man Oscar Griffin found dead after two-day search
Oscar Griffin, a Juneau man missing since Monday, was found dead Thursday by SEADOGS volunteer searchers — the morning after fireworks paused the K-9 search.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
North Slope Borough to seek $300K for second underwater rescue drone after Nuvuk response exposed gaps
North Slope Borough mayor seeks $300,000 for a second underwater rescue drone after a recent response left a volunteer behind due to equipment weight limits.
by Lucas Brown4w ago2 min readAI
A fall at a remote Alaska lighthouse turned an injury into a helicopter rescue
A tourist badly hurt her hip at the historic Sentinel Island lighthouse near Juneau and got a helicopter flight out. Kinda a two birds with one stone thing
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Canoe capsizes on Tolsona Lake; rescue raft overturns; all reach island safely
A canoe capsized on Tolsona Lake near Glennallen on May 29, a rescue raft overturned, but all occupants wearing life jackets reached an island safely and were picked up by troopers and fire crews with no injuries reported.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Hunting boats find stranded pair 15 miles offshore near Kotzebue
Two adults stranded 15 miles offshore near Kotzebue were rescued by hunting boats before the formal rescue vessel arrived, both safe by early Wednesday morning.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Mat-Su Emergency Services Certifies 25 Responders in Trench Rescue
Twenty-five emergency responders from across the Matanuska-Susitna Borough are completing week-long trench rescue technician certification training to address the common hazard of trench collapses in the region.
by Alaska News3mo ago2 min readAI
Latvian climber faces mounting medical bills after Denali fall
A Latvian climber critically injured in a May 28 Denali fall that killed three teammates faces mounting medical bills as his insurance nears its limit. His family launched a fundraising campaign for months of treatment in Anchorage.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI