A final effort to recover the body of an airman, presumed dead after his kayak overturned at Eklutna Lake last week, has been suspended by Alaska State Troopers.
Robert Brown, 20, originally from Texas, was on active duty with the Air Force at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson when he was reported missing while kayaking at the lake May 16.
Earlier efforts to recover his body were hampered by equipment limitations and strong currents.
Troopers said Tuesday that they assembled a team of commercial divers and a remotely operated robotic vehicle on Monday after learning they would have a window of about eight hours during which the pumps on the lake serving the Eklutna Hydroelectric Project could be shut down. The pumps create dangerous currents that restrict rescue operations.
"AST was able to coordinate with the Eklutna Hydro Project and a commercial dive team to shut the pump off at (2 p.m.) and send the dive team and a ROV into the water to search for Brown," troopers wrote. "The search did not result in finding Brown or provide any indication that he was in the immediate search area."
Troopers said Brown's family, as well as JBER officials, were told that "search efforts have been suspended pending further leads."