Alaska News

Snowmachiner missing for days in Western Alaska found safe

A 26-year-old Koyuk man missing in Western Alaska since Sunday, when he left Nome on a roughly 90-mile snowmachine trip to Koyuk, was found safe Tuesday evening, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said in an email Wednesday morning that Jeffery Kimoktoak was found at about 8 p.m. near Salmon Creek, about 60 miles north of Elim. She said both he and the people who found him were "out of the field" by about 10:45 p.m. Tuesday.

According to a Wednesday dispatch, Kimoktoak was unhurt after the ordeal.

"Kimoktoak did not have shelter; instead he made fires to stay warm until searchers from Elim located him and brought him back to Elim," troopers wrote. "There are no reported injuries."

Kimoktoak was traveling between the two communities when a storm hindered his travel, Alaska State Troopers wrote in an online dispatch Tuesday. He made it close to Isaac's Point, on the north side of Norton Bay between the villages of Elim and Koyuk, but headed back to Elim because he was unable to find a trailhead in the storm.

At 10:30 Sunday night, Kimoktoak made another attempt to continue on to Koyuk.

Trooper spokesperson Beth Ipsen said the trail between Elim and Koyuk is about 40 miles. She called the area where Kimoktoak was found "well off course of the trip" for the Elim-Koyuk leg.

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"There are three chances to cross the river on the trail, but apparently the rivers are pretty well-frozen," Ipsen said.

Ground searchers from Elim and Koyuk searched Monday and Tuesday without results. Troopers said the agency was notified early Tuesday morning. By late afternoon, Ipsen said, two members of the Nome Search and Rescue team were on board an Army National Guard helicopter as spotters.

Ipsen said Tuesday that the time frames for aerial searches are limited this time of year because of the short daylight hours, with many cabins in the area also checked during the search for Kimoktoak. She also reported wind-chill temperatures in the area at 28 below.

Alaska Dispatch News reporter Chris Klint contributed information to this story.

Megan Edge

Megan Edge is a former reporter for Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News.

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