Troopers say they got a report of an emergency locator beacon registered to Washington, D.C., resident William Calomiris, 27, that was activated near Pungokepuk Lake, 20 miles northeast of Twin Hills, about 8:30 p.m. July 1. An air taxi service had dropped him and Adam Grunstra, also 27, of Bethesda, Md., off at the lake on June 30 for a seven-day stay, troopers said.
Troopers alerted the Alaska Air National Guard, the U.S. Coast Guard and then diverted their own Dillingham-based floatplane that was in the area to head to the scene and check things out.
The floatplane touched down about 10:30 p.m. to find there was no emergency. A day in the wilds had just taken its toll and the men were ready to leave, troopers said.
"Calomiris and Grunstra claimed that they had been sunburned," troopers wrote in a dispatch. "They were unprepared to deal with the long day length and any further exposure to the sun. They had activated the beacon in an effort to get extracted ahead of schedule."
Troopers passed a message to the air taxi service in Dillingham that the men were requesting an early departure and told them to wait at the pickup point, where they were recovered the next day, troopers said.
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