Alaska State Troopers say a Selawik man, last seen leaving nearby Noorvik by snowmachine on Christmas evening, is suspected in recent thefts of at least three of the vehicles.
Troopers said in a Saturday dispatch that they received a call around 3:15 a.m. about a snowmachine stolen in Selawik the day before, with the suspect later identified as 20-year-old Douglas J. Brown.
"(The caller) stated it was actually stolen at (about 8 p.m. Friday) after he got off his machine to go inside a residence and he saw Brown take off with it," troopers wrote. "He reported that Brown may have gone to Noorvik where he has family."
At about 9:30 p.m. Friday, troopers had received a Report Every Dangerous Driver Immediately call from Noorvik -- about 30 miles west of Selawik -- involving Brown.
"Brown (was) leaving the village of Noorvik with clothing not suited for cold temperatures on a snowmachine," troopers wrote. "The whereabouts of the snowmachine and Brown are unknown at this time."
Brown has also been linked to the thefts of other snowmachines in Selawik, a community of about 875 people at the mouth of the Selawik River.
"Brown is also the subject of two separate investigations of at least two other stolen snowmachines from Selawik for this month alone where he has been positively identified," troopers wrote. "Both of those snowmachines have been recovered and returned to their owners."
Neither Alaska State Troopers nor Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue officials had any word Sunday on a search-and-rescue effort being launched to find Brown.