Two bodies were discovered by a hunter and troopers Monday in the area of the Seward Peninsula in Western Alaska where two men went missing during a snowmachine trip in February.
The hunter reported finding a body and a snowmachine about 6 miles southwest of the Sinuk River bridge, which is around 25 miles northwest of Nome, at about 5:30 p.m. Alaska State Troopers who responded found a second body in the area, said spokeswoman Megan Peters.
The agency is now waiting on the state medical examiner to identify the bodies and determine the causes of death, Peters said.
David Miller, 38, and Rex Iyatunguk, 37, went missing during a snowmachine trip from Teller to Nome on Feb. 25. The two left Teller together on a blue Polaris 550 snowmachine around noon.
:quality(70)/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-adn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/HLT3HFF54RDRBBDYOKD2RCHJ2M.jpg)
The 70-mile trip across the Seward Peninsula to Nome normally takes two to three hours by snowmachine. When the two men still hadn’t arrived 12 hours later, they were reported overdue.
Troopers said rescuers searched cabins along the roadway several times but were unable to find the men. The agency pulled out of the weather-hampered search about a week later, on March 5, though volunteer search parties continued looking for Miller and Iyatunguk.
Peters said troopers won’t be providing additional details about the bodies until they have been positively identified.