Alaska News

Troopers suspend search for missing man in Southwest Alaska

Alaska State Troopers temporarily called off a search Thursday for a 74-year-old man reported missing last week after he left a Southwest Alaska village on an ATV and never got home.

Henry Williams was last seen leaving the village of Goodnews Bay at 4 p.m. Feb. 27. He had been grocery shopping in the village and was headed back to his home village of Platinum, a trip that should have taken around 30 minutes, according to troopers.

At 1 p.m. Saturday, a village public safety officer called troopers and said Williams never made it to Platinum. Search teams set out on ATVs. The following day, troopers flew in two state airplanes over the beach and overland trail between the villages, troopers said.

Over the next several days, the search continued, but no sign of Williams appeared, Beth Ipsen, troopers spokeswoman, said in an email.

On Thursday, a troopers dispatch posted online said the search had been suspended due to a lack of clues to Williams' whereabouts as well as the instability of ice on Goodnews Bay.

During winter, the most common way to travel between the villages is over the icy bay. Searchers believe it is the route Williams took, Ipsen said.

"However, since his disappearance, the ice went out on the Platinum side of the bay and the ice on the Goodnews Bay village side is now deemed unstable," Ipsen said.

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Troopers said in the online dispatch that the aerial search will resume "when weather cooperates."

"If any clues arise, they will be analyzed and appropriate resources will be deployed," the dispatch said.

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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