Employee dies in utility vehicle accident at Moose Run Golf Course

An employee at Moose Run Golf Course on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson died Sunday in an apparent accident at the course.

According to JBER officials, the man killed was Dunstan Wagner, 39.

The base said Wagner died at the scene at around 11:59 a.m. Sunday after he was involved in a utility vehicle accident. The cause of the incident is under investigation.

Wagner started at the course in 2016, according to a biography posted on the Moose Run website.

“He is an avid golfer and extremely detail oriented,” reads the bio. “Dunstan understands tournaments and the unique needs of each event. We are pleased to have him on staff taking care of this busy and important service.”

Alaska Golf Association executive director Jeff Barnhart said he knew Wagner as a hard-working, hands-on tournament manager who “had a passion for the game.”

“He’s not one of these managers in the office doing paperwork, he’s out there with everybody on the course,” Barnhart said Monday.

News of the death sent shock through the close-knit Anchorage golfing community.

“When you go to any of the golf courses the staff is very often family, they feel like family,” he said.

The 36-hole course off Arctic Valley Road north of Anchorage is on military land and owned by the joint Army and Air Force base.

It was closed Monday as the man’s coworkers dealt with the loss of the employee, according to a woman who answered the phone at the course. She said she expected the facility to reopen Tuesday.

The course manager said he was unable to speak on the record Monday about the incident.

Barnhart said Wagner will be remembered for the joy he brought to the game of golf in Anchorage.

“He was loved and certainly will be missed,” he said.

[CORRECTION: A previous version of this story misstated Barnhart’s title.]