A Hooper Bay man last seen taking a swim in a local river Thursday afternoon was subsequently found dead, hours into an air and ground search for him.
According to a Friday dispatch, Bethel-based Alaska State Troopers were told at roughly 3:15 p.m. Thursday that Marvin Smith, 33, "had reportedly jumped into the Akuliqutaq River without clothing, went under water, and had not surfaced."
Residents of Hooper Bay, a Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta community of about 1,200 people roughly 500 miles west of Anchorage, began a ground search backed up by troopers in an aircraft. Smith's body was found during the ground search at about 6 p.m.
Smith's next of kin were notified, troopers said, and his body was released to family members. The State Medical Examiner's Office was also informed.