LUTHERAN QUILTERS – Members of the Quilts for Comfort Group stand between pews draped with some of the 205 quilts they made, in the Sitka Lutheran Church Tuesday. The group made the quilts for five local non-profits and one in Anchorage. The remaining quilts are sent to Lutheran World Relief which distributes them to places around the world in need, such as Ukraine, as part of Personal Care Kits. Pictured are, from left, Helen Cunningham, Kathleen Brandt,Vicki Swanson, Paulla Hardy, Kim Hunter, Linda Swanson and Sue Fleming. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
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Daily Sitka Sentinel
Hiker's Body Found
UPDATE–At 5:30 p.m. today (Friday) Sitka Police Lt. Lance Ewers posted an update in the search for Michael Hansen: "We regret to inform everyone that Sitka Search and Rescue located Michael Hansen deceased. His family has been notified and we have started the recovery effort. The investigation is ongoing. It appears that Michael slipped and fell on some rocks sliding down approximately 75 feet." Ewers said the body was found around 4:20 p.m. at the 1,150-foot level on the southwest-facing side of Mt. Verstovia, above Wolff Drive. The Sentinel will have more information in Monday's edition.
By SHANNON HAUGLAND
Sentinel Staff Writer
The Sitka Fire Department is asking for help Saturday from “willing and able” community members to help search for the hiker who was last seen Monday on Mt. Verstovia.
“We would like anyone willing and able and familiar with the Indian River drainage area,” said Police Lt. Lance Ewers, captain of the search and rescue squad.
Volunteers prepared to spend six hours in the woods in wet weather should report to the fire hall at 8 a.m. Saturday to get an assignment, Ewers said. GPSs will be issued to those who need them.
Ewers said anyone who wants to volunteer will be given a job.
Hansen, 37, who moved to Sitka in July and is employed at Sitka Counseling, was last seen atop Mt. Verstovia at 3:30 p.m. Monday, dressed for a day hike, with a small backpack.
He was reported missing when he didn’t arrive for work as usual Tuesday morning.
A search has been ongoing since then, with Coast Guard helicopters, four search dog teams and other search parties on the ground. The local fire and police departments, Alaska State Troopers and the U.S. Forest Service have also been involved in the search.
Responding to rumors about Hansen getting purposely lost, Ewers said, “We have no reason to think that. Based on the facts collected during this entire investigation there is no reason to conclude that this is anything other than someone who is lost. ... We’re still very hopeful.”
Ewers said he has learned that Hansen was a photography enthusiast, who liked to capture images from uncommon angles off the beaten trails.
The search continued all day on Thursday, and picked up again today, with teams combing the sides of Mt. Verstovia from the bottom and top of the mountain. An “anomaly” the teams checked out at the top of Verstovia Thursday turned out to be a patch of dying Indian celery, Ewers said.
Those volunteering for the search on Saturday will work in teams as a precaution about bears. (A Coast Guard helicopter medevacked a man mauled by a bear on Admiralty Thursday night. See story, this page.)
“We’ll be in the woods, hiking through brush, hiking uphill and downhill,” Ewers said. “If we get 8,000 people we’ll put them all to work.”
Ewers said Sitkans have been coming through on this search, with hundreds of volunteer hours logged. He thanked locksmith Jerry Deppa for making a new key for Hansen’s Toyota, so Hansen’s parents have transportation while they’re in town. They arrived in town Wednesday night from their home in Wisconsin.
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20 YEARS AGO
March 2004
Advertisement: Tea-Licious Tea House & Bakery 315 Lincoln Street Grand Opening! Freshly Baked Scones, Cakes & Pastries Innovative Salads, Soups & Sandwiches Harney & Sons Tea. Lunch * Afternoon Tea * Supper.
50 YEARS AGO
March 1974
Photo caption: National Republican Chairman George Bush takes a drink of water offered by Jan Craddick, Sitka delegate, during the Republican convention held here. Mrs. Craddick explained to Bush that the water was from Indian River, which means, according to local legend, that he will return.