Four days after an Anchorage man was reported overdue from a snowmachine trip near McGrath, searchers have recovered his snowmachine-- but not his body -- from the Kuskokwim River.
Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said the recovery effort for 24-year-old Casey Graham continued Monday afternoon.
Troopers in McGrath, a community of about 310 people roughly 270 miles southwest of Fairbanks, were alerted Thursday afternoon that Graham hadn't returned; an aerial search found his snowmachine slightly north of the McGrath airport, in the main channel of the Kuskokwim, shortly afterward.
"An (underwater remotely operated vehicle) was used this weekend, but the slushy conditions and fast water current made the tool not very effective," Peters wrote. "We have also flown over the area to see if a bird's-eye view would help us out. So far nothing."
Bethel Search and Rescue said in a weekend post that it was providing assistance to the search for Graham, with team member Sam Samuelson sent to the scene.
"(Graham) drove into an open lead just around the bend from McGrath while enroute to Takotna," Bethel SAR officials wrote. "It has been a long time since an under-ice recovery effort has been conducted in that area."
Mike Riley, Bethel SAR's president, was awaiting word Monday on the results of morning search efforts. He praised the array of local volunteers involved in the search for Graham.
"There's a lot of good help up there," Riley said.
Bethel SAR members have also been trying to warn people of open water along the Kuskokwim and other rivers in the region, coordinating with villagers to mark open leads.
Since the recovery of Graham's snowmachine, Riley said the river has also surrendered other signs of the missing man.
"Unfortunately, they have found his helmet -- that's one of the pieces they've found so far," Riley said.