A man who fell into the Chena River from an inflatable raft Tuesday afternoon, along with three other people, was found dead in the evening after a search.
Fairbanks Fire Department assistant chief Ernie Misewicz said Wednesday morning that 44-year-old Fairbanks resident Willie Chambers' body was found at about 9 p.m. Tuesday after a five-hour search. His next of kin were notified as of Wednesday morning.
"He was submerged when we found him," Misewicz said. "He was about 25 yards from the Peger Road bridge."
The search began with a 911 call at about 4 p.m. Tuesday that a raft had overturned on the Chena River, near the west end of the bridge. According to Misewicz, the three people who got to shore reported that Chambers "went under and they didn't see him anymore."
Multiple agencies searched the river between the Peger Road bridge and the Pump House restaurant off Chena Pump Road.
"Due to recent rain, the river was high and a strong/fast-moving current challenged the search efforts," Misewicz wrote in a Wednesday statement. "Visibility in the water was zero due to the fast current."
Misewicz said submerged obstructions near the bridge were also a factor in Chambers' death. He wasn't wearing a life jacket when he was found, and there wasn't any immediate word on whether the other rafters had been wearing them.
"The river is pretty high right now, and there's a lot of debris that's gathered on the bridge and its abutments," Misewicz said. "It's very likely that he was caught underwater."
Alaska Dispatch News reporter Chris Klint contributed information to this story.