A Grayling man was found dead Wednesday in a frozen waterway near the Western Alaska village, Alaska State Troopers said.
Aniak-based troopers were told shortly after noon Wednesday that 43-year-old Stanley Milton Walker was missing from the Yukon River community of about 175 people and that "his jacket was found frozen to the Grayling Creek."
"Members of the community used chainsaws, ice picks, and axes to chip through the ice to search for Stanley with drag bars and hooks attached to several boats," troopers wrote in a dispatch. "At (about 6 p.m.), Stanley's body was recovered under the water about 100 feet from where his jacket was found."
Walker's next of kin were notified by troopers. Foul play is not believed to be a factor in his death and troopers also ruled out alcohol as one.
Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said in an email that Walker had been seen in the Grayling area on Tuesday. It wasn't clear how he had ended up in the creek.
"It sounds like he was simply out and about and met an unfortunate end," Peters wrote. "To our knowledge, no one saw him going into the water so we aren't going to speculate."
The State Medical Examiner's Office in Anchorage will conduct an autopsy on Walker's body to determine the cause and manner of his death.