Troopers pull out of search for snowmachiners who never reached Nome

The Alaska State Troopers said Tuesday they are giving up their weeklong search for two men who went missing during a snowmachine trip to Nome.

David Miller, 38, and Rex Iyatunguk, 37, left the village of Teller together on a blue Polaris 550 snowmachine around noon Feb. 25, troopers said. The 70-mile trip across the Seward Peninsula to Nome normally takes two to three hours by snowmachine.

Twelve hours later, the men still had not arrived.

Troopers spokesman Tim DeSpain said search parties have searched cabins along the Blodgett Highway that runs between Teller and Nome “multiple times” with no luck.

The search has been complicated by severe snowstorms that have caused whiteout conditions and forced rescuers to search for the men only intermittently.

“These storms have brought a significant amount of snow and snowdrifts to the Nome, Teller and the areas in between,” DeSpain said.

The storms prevented troopers from being able to even begin their search until the day after the men were reported missing.

DeSpain said volunteer searchers will continue looking for the men as they’re able. Family members and friends of the missing men have asked on social media for food and supplies to support the search.