Anchorage Daily News

A distress call from a backcountry hiker in northern Alaska led to a long distance rescue over the weekend, spanning more than 3,000 miles, the Alaska State Troopers reported Saturday.

It began when a personal locator beacon control center in Texas received a call for help Friday from a transmitter registered to an Australian named David Roberts. According to the GPS signal, Roberts was in an isolated area of the Brooks Range.

The center contacted the troopers' Anchorage office, which notified the Alaska Air National Guard at the Anchorage Rescue Coordination Center.

The RCC dispatched a plane from Anchorage and a snowmachine from Bettles. About 5 p.m. Friday, the flight crew spotted a campfire that turned out to be Roberts'.

Unable to land, they dropped a radio.

Roberts retrieved it and told the rescue team he'd called for help when he began to suffer frostbite to his feet, but he was no longer in need of immediate help.

The RCC landed the plane nearby early Saturday morning, then transported Roberts to Eileson Air Force Base in Fairbanks. He suffered no injuries, the troopers said in a press statement.

No other information was immediately available.

Find George Bryson online at adn.com/contact/gbryson or call 257-4318.

ADVERTISEMENT