Search Underway for Overdue Hunter

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Category: News

Created on Wednesday, 30 October 2024 14:42

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By Sentinel Staff
A search was under way today for a Sitka man overdue on a half-day hunting trip Tuesday in the Nakwasina Sound area.
The fire department received a call around 5:30 p.m. Tuesday from the man’s wife, who said he had gone out hunting that morning and had been expected back around midday.
A Coast Guard helicopter crew flew to the area and spotted the man’s skiff at anchor just offshore. The crew searched for about three and a half hours before returning to the air station. Search conditions were “not ideal,” the fire department said.
The Coast Guard resumed the aerial search at first light today, but the helicopter was back around midday, and had no information for the Sentinel about the search.
Teams from the Sitka Fire Department and Alaska State Troopers arrived at the area around 8:30 a.m. today and focused on ground searches on the hillside up to about 1,600 feet.
SFD search and rescue captain Brian McLaughlin said it’s a challenging search area, with dense forest, steep,  rocky terrain and snow in spots. The shoreline area of the search closest to the hunter’s boat is about a mile long, the captain said.
He said search and rescue is currently “flush with volunteers” and has enough to carry out the search plan. “We’ve had a great response,” he added.