Alaska News

Troopers suspend search for missing Mount Marathon racer

The organized Alaska State Troopers search for the runner who inexplicably went missing during the Mount Marathon race in Seward on the Fourth of July has been suspended, The Associated Press reports.

The missing runner, Michael LeMaitre, 66, was last seen by a race timer about 200 feet below the turnaround at the top of the mountain. Afterward, he disappeared completely.

Alaska State Troopers say they notified LeMaitre's family Saturday night that their organized search operations were suspended after four days of looking failed to turn up any trace of him.

The exhaustive search was conducted by air and ground, and involved multiple agencies and numerous volunteers.

KTUU reports that the Seward Fire Department says it will continue its search effort on Sunday.

Read more from the AP, here, from KTUU, here, and gain more context about how easy it can be for Alaska to swallow someone up without a trace, read Saturday's report from Alaska Dispatch, here.

Craig Medred

Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. He left the ADN in 2015.

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