Alaska News

Man who crashed ATV in Chatanika River found dead

A 27-year-old Fairbanks man who had been missing since May 25, when he was swept down an Interior Alaska river, was found dead on Saturday, Alaska State Troopers said.

Junior Leota's body was found in the Chatanika River, just over three-quarters of a mile from where he was last seen before slipping underwater and out of view, troopers said.

Leota had crashed his ATV into the Chatanika River at Olnes Pond about 22 miles north of Fairbanks, troopers said. He had driven into the water after failing to make a sharp turn on an ATV trail next to the river, trooper spokesperson Megan Peters wrote in an email.

Leota's wife was on an ATV in front of him, Peters wrote. She heard him yell and saw him floating down the river before he disappeared underwater and out of view.

Troopers got a report that Leota was missing around 3 p.m. on May 25. Search and rescue teams, troopers, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, state park rangers, and two local fire departments helped look for Leota that day.

In the days that followed, multiple trooper and Civil Air Patrol aircraft flew over the area. K9s tried tracking Leota's scent. About 100 volunteers searched the river banks, aided by boats from various agencies, including National Park Service and Fort Wainwright Fire and Emergency Services.

On May 28, after another large push from ground and river searchers and a helicopter flight that came back empty handed, troopers called off the search for Leota. The river level was high with no visibility, Peters wrote. Troopers said they would reassess and resume once river conditions improved.

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The river is estimated to have fallen 3 feet since the search began, Peters wrote.

After troopers called off the search, Leota's family kept searching for him, Peters said.

When the family found Leota's ATV, Alaska Interior Wilderness Search and Rescue put a dog team in the area, which "had some alerts," Peters wrote.

After that, a team comprising of PAW Search and Rescue, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Alaska Interior Wilderness Search and Rescue and a dive rescue team with sonar abilities searched the area and found Leota's body, Peters wrote.

His body was being sent to the State Medical Examiner Office in Anchorage, troopers said.

Laurel Andrews

Laurel Andrews was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in October 2018.

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