Alaska News

Wasilla hunter rescued in Western Alaska

A Wasilla moose hunter was rescued early Friday morning after spending the night camped out in the wilderness of Western Alaska. He got separated from his hunting partner who yelled and waited for the missing man for four hours, Alaska State Troopers said.

On Thursday at 10:20 p.m., Alaska Wildlife Troopers received a call from a charter about a guide who had lost track of his hunting partner, who'd been missing more than four hours. The guide used a satellite phone to contact the charter, which then called troopers, said spokesperson Megan Peters.

The two hunters agreed to meet up near the bank of Innoko River, the westernmost major tributary of the Yukon River, after they agreed to split up. But 56-year-old Wasilla resident Victor Ross never reached the rendezvous point, troopers reported.

"After four hours of hollering and waiting, the hunting partner used a satellite telephone to report Ross missing," troopers wrote in a Friday press release.

Wildlife troopers in McGrath were unable to respond due to darkness, they said. Wildlife troopers in the area only have an airplane as a rescue resource, not a helicopter.

But shortly before 4 a.m. Friday, the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center responded after being called in for help by troopers. The RCC flew to the area in a helicopter and located Ross, who'd built a fire near the river, troopers reported.

The hunter wasn't hurt but reported getting lost. He refused medical treatment, troopers reported.

ADVERTISEMENT

Game Management Unit 21, which includes the Innoko River, is a popular hunting area in the fall. During August and September, hunting seasons for Dall sheep, caribou, deer and moose hunts open.

In Western Alaska, weather is typically cool and begins to creep to below freezing temperatures by mid-September. The river valley remains largely uninhabited. Most settlements along the Innoko were abandoned after the gold rush, and the tiny village of Shageluk is the sole community along the river.

Contact Jerzy Shedlock at jerzy(at)alaskadispatch.com or via Twitter at twitter.com/jerzyms

Jerzy Shedlock

Jerzy Shedlock is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2017.

ADVERTISEMENT