But we may never get to know what happened to him.. It went on for three days. You have permission to edit this article. Low around 30F. LeMaitre disappeared into the rain and cold and swirling clouds. Not a shoe. But probably the best known missing person case in wild Alaska involves 66-year-old Michael LeMaitre of Anchorage who went up Mount Marathon on July 4, 2012 and never came down. The missing in Alaska - Craig Medred About a third work in and around Anchorage, the only Alaskan community that can pass as a city. The two women feared that Rick might have been a victim of foul play. The Guard detected no warm bodies on the mountain. They never saw anything. My brother Patrick chambers was listed in your missing article. Praying 24/7, Dolly told me, was the only way she didnt just lose it. She said shed been reciting the Lords Prayer silently, over and over, since getting up that morning. Jenna Miller. Jeffrey Goldberg interviews Obama, a preview of the new. I didnt know what to do, Leon Bennett told me, recalling the days and weeks after Lieutenant Shuey showed up at his house. He remains missing. No sign of him has ever been found. "He always had an imaginative mind, somewhat sociopathic-charismatic,'' his sister Teddi Narkowich said by email from her home in Boca Raton, Florida. There are lives that are erring and nameless. I suspect he didnt realize that the pile of rocks just ahead of time was the turn-around point and instead saw the goat trail and followed THAT until.??? The list now contains the names of 89 missing since the 1970s, but it is far from complete. Richard had fractured his shin and calf bones in a 1980 motorcycle accident. Now she was on oxygen and struggling to breathe. Alaska authorities also are sending saliva samples from relatives of three missing fishermen involved in a boating accident a few years ago. The next day, a small group hiked up a grassy hillside overlooking Lower Summit Lake, one of Richards favorite places to hunt. . We're 8 weeks out from OUT OF CHARACTER Day! The two women came to believe she was closer to the truth about what had happened to Rick than anyone else, certainly closer than the Alaska State Troopers. After almost four hours, Jane entered a meadow and peered into a small, shaded clearing. Investigators had traced the Samsung phone to Beaver, but theyd decided to wait this time for DNA confirmation before releasing the bones to his family. About 100 people live in Beaver Creek. Their stories are represented by color-coded flags dotted across an Alaska map in Hughes office. They felt bound to him by circumstance, and by their shared experience of a grief few others could understand. Alaska encompasses 39 mountain ranges, 12,000 rivers, 100,000 . His remains were found near Edna bay almost 12 years to the day of his disappearance. They lived less than a mile away and hadnt heard from him for a while. Several large Rubbermaid bins were each labeled with the name of a friend or relative. Two years after he disappeared, hikers stumbled on human remains about 12 miles from Schoch's old campsite. With the bones now identified, a new thought has taken root in the back of Leons mind: What if Richard is alive? And we never found his camping stuff. Richards friend Hap Pierce told me he wouldnt be surprised if Richard one day knocked on his door. Another 145 miles south from there along the Alaska Highway, the only road connecting the 49th state to the rest of the country crosses the White River, so named for the color of the massive load of sediment it moves north from the heart of the Wrangell-St. Elias Park and Preserve past the northern edge of Canada's Kluane National Park and Reserve on the way to the Yukon River. Heidi worked at a coffee shop; Dolly helped her husband, an electrician, run his business. Griffis grew up there, dreaming of the far north. Log in or sign up for Facebook to connect with friends, family and people you know. She is 5-foot-4 and weighs 140 pounds. More than 53,000 people have been reported missing in the state since the clearinghouse was established in 1988. I'm so excited for it to exist in the world and can't wait to celebrate. Fire crews in Alaska are used to seeing the bones of moose, caribou, bears, and other large creatures that live and die in these woods. A 27-year-old climber from Salt Lake City, he was attempting a solo ascent of 16,237-foot Mount Sanford when he disappeared. Top 8 creepiest unexplained disappearances - Sharing Alaska In Alaska, the majority of cases involve young runaways who eventually turn up alive, said investigator Bill Hughes, who manages the state police Missing Persons Clearinghouse. How about the guy from Anchorage married man with 2kids I believe? Jenny Miller Obituary (1984 - 2015) - Juneau, AK - Juneau Empire The next day, he reported her missing. At the top of the list were Rick Hills and Richard Bennett, whose last known locations were close together and only about three miles from the Funny River site. Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. Rick Hillss skull hasnt been found. Families ask, How come you cant find our son? Spread across almost 38,000 square miles of mountaintops, glacier ice, forests and slopes thick with brush, the Kluane/Wrangell-St. Elias/Glacier Bay/Tatshenshini-Alsek World Heritage Site is larger than the state of Maine and far wilder. Ten years?, Dolly replied. The men rushed over, and the three stood in silence. In July of 2009, the search was called off. A single moose can feed a person for a year, Leon told me. They were things he knew we could use, Jane told me. By 6:30 that evening, more than four hours after the start of a race that takes most people less than two hours to complete, LeMaitre's wife, Peggy, was worried. Nothing was certain, however. Curious to know what Macdonald meant by typical, I flew south to the Kenai, a peninsula shaped like the craggy profile of a T. rexs head, extending 150 miles southwest into the Gulf of Alaska. A jogger vanishes from the top of Mt. Many were runaways who eventually returned home, but some were people who will never be seen again. Consider that it has been 30 years since Japanese national hero Naomi Uemera went missing after the first successful winter ascent of Mount McKinley. Troopers noticed a blue. That same morning, in Lake Havasu City, Arizona, Lieutenant Kat Shuey read an almost identical letter to a man named Leon Bennett. Everyone I met there seemed to know of people still missing or unfound. Dolly Hills herself lost a 13-year-old brother, William, in 1962. They even wore the same kind of clothes, and both had old fractures in their right legRichard from his motorcycle accident, and Rick from playing hockey. Ten years, Dolly repeated. I Google his name once or twice a year with the hopes that somebody has finally found him. His battles with the church arent over, How Palm Springs ran out Black and Latino families to build a fantasy for rich, white people, U.N. envoy says Sudans warring sides agree to negotiate, Yellen says U.S. could hit debt ceiling as soon as June 1, U.S. says 20,000 Russians killed in Ukraine war since December, Speaker Kevin McCarthy addresses Knesset amid fraught U.S.-Israel ties, First Republic: Cheap, interest-only jumbo mortgages to Silicon Valleys elite fueled the banks failure. Charlie Chocknok, an elderly Yupik Eskimo last seen walking near the New Stuyahok village airport in July 2000. Id never heard of the Funny River, much less the fire that had ravaged the Kenai. Jane placed a wreath on the freshly turned soil. Shes the one who uncovered them, and felt honor-bound to deliver the news face-to-face. Most who disappear in the 49th state are eventually found. The psychic seemed to intuit aspects of Ricks disappearance that matched what police had told Dolly and Heidi. Soldotna, a fishing town of about 4,000 people, sits along the Kenai River in the western lowlands. The legendary Japanese climber Naomi Uemera who disappeared on the descent of the first successful winter climb of North Americas tallest peak leads a list of mountianeers who have gone into the Alaska Range or the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountains never to be seen again. At left is LeMaitre's driver's license photo. Or call home, at least, Dolly added. Sprawling east from Alaska's Richardson Highway across big river valleys, brushy hillsides and the desolate Nutzotin Mountains all the way to the U.S. border with Canada, the district covers 5 million acres, an area almost twice the size of Yellowstone National Park. She thanked them. He left bacon in the sink thawing out, Striker Overly, a hunting guide from Tok, told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner at the time. He was already out of the Park Service when Griffis went missing and can't remember that search, but the memory is easily lost amid the memories of so many others. Both the medical examiner and the State Troopers were reluctant to declare the remains Richard Bennetts without DNA confirmation. But what if he left it to find a different life? Three months after the Funny River bones were discovered, Shuey and another investigator found themselves speeding through the Arizona desert in the middle of the night to reach Lake Havasu City by morning. that was weird. Not a bone. Four months later, in January of 2015, I flew back to the Kenai Peninsula. He could have tumbled down one of several steep embankments nearby and broken his neck. Every seasoned Alaskan knows that a large number of ravens and eagles circling in one area means a carcass below, but Frank and Nancy assumed it was a moose or a caribou or some other large animal. Dolly introduced Heidi as my daughter, and I would come to know the two women as a unit. His car was found about three weeks later in the parking lot of Resurrection Pass Trail, a popular hiking route in the national forest south of Anchorage. or. A 27-year-old climber from Salt Lake City, he was attempting a solo ascent of 16,237-foot Mount Sanford when he disappeared. The image of two women studying a map, a single light overhead, spoke to me of an inner toughness rising to the occasion. The two families talked about my Richard and your Richard and human remains and bone fragments and detached skulls. She and Dolly took turns filling me in. The remains were tested in 2001, but because of backlogs, the results didnt come in for another two years. In private, though, she could think of nothing else: Could it be Rick? Youre not going to believe it, Dolly told me. Red means a rough ice road. Alaska authorities are also sending saliva samples from relatives of three missing fishermen involved in a boating accident in the area a few years ago. The pilot returned to find Schoch's camp, his medicine and other gear, but no sign of the retired Greyhound bus driver. Author Dave Roberts would later write one of the north's greatest mountaineering tales with the 2007 publication of the book "Escape from Lucania: An Epic Story of Survival.''. They wrapped the urn in a brown-paper grocery bag, and Heidi took it home. The samples could provide a DNA link to the missing. Missing in Alaska: With Ken Gerhard, Jax Menez Atwell, Tommy Joseph, Matthew Evan Paine. in St. Paul, MN. Griffis was last seen in the area of the White River on the Alaska Highway.". I spent two days with them, going over the investigation, discussing theories, and retracing Ricks last known movements. Lemaitre was never seen again. A retired contractor in his early 70s, Leon is a compact, sturdily built man, naturally reserved but with a lot on his mind. Seventy-one-year-old Jerry Warner from Missouri, told the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner at the time, https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/article/human-remains-found-remote-island-sept-belong-missing-french-adventurer-francois/2014/11/06/. Dolly and Heidi still suspect foul play, but they fear they may never know the truth about what happened to him. Its just a couple guys in a boat, I heard Dolly say. Griffis's disappearance never made the news. 2015. He had quietly hoped the man would turn out to be his son, even though troopers had ruled out that possibility the previous summer. They were still piecing the narrative together themselves. Chance of rain 40%. Nervous laughter. It's possible that Gilbert wandered off and got lost in the woods. I, along with many others, would like to see this mystery solved one day.". There are cases like this all over the state. The e-mail appeared in my inbox in September 2014. When everyone was settled around the dining-room table, the captain started reading. When a woman in Florida finally called mounties wondering if anyone had seen the then 47-year-old man, she had no idea of where to look for Griffis. Itd be hard living. At that point, one would think hed realize Something is wrong here. and then turn around and head back to the area where he came up. In early 2015, I traveled to Lake Havasu City to meet the other family that had gotten a knock on its door the previous August. Jenna miller missing in alaska - vnkn.rehagramm.de There were, to borrow one troopers phrase, a great number of equally plausible alternative inferences.. They took over the search, but did not call in an Alaska Air National Guard Pavehawk helicopter with sophisticated, heat-sensing technology until the next day. There are a number of theories about what causes the disappearances, ranging from local . He spent a lot of time in these woods, Dolly said. I still couldnt believe he would take his own life. Confirmed by DNA. Jenna Miller. Train that derailed in East Palestine carried Dow product, EthylHexyl Mid-Michigan police officer accused of defrauding Meijer of $10K, Thousands gather for 37th Freeland Walleye Festival despite rain, clouds, Creative 360 moving to former Chapel Lane Presbyterian building. Included are black flags, which mark locations where unidentified human remains were found. Who was it?. Searchers scoured the known routes for horses for 35 miles west to the deserted mining camp of Chisana and 35 miles east to the tiny community of Beaver Creek in Yukon. Everyone settled around the dining-room table at Janes house, with Dolly and Tom at one end, and Leon, Jane, and Leroy at the other. 2023 Anchorage Daily News. She listened and mostly kept silent. By the end of the. Im frustrated that the Alaska State Troopers arent looking for Richard. "But we may never get to know what happened to him. The three of them went to Richards place and looked around in silence. Bette was still healthy enough to make the 20-minute hike from the highway to a picturesque clearing between two large birch trees. He posted a note at the seasonal hunting operation, saying he'd gone to check on an unnamed cabin. Alaska authorities never paid him much notice. The anthropologists found them consistent with the markings on the skeleton. For a long time, there was hope they might find at least a hint to explain the disappearance. He was, by all accounts, good at it. "Left behind were his tent, sleeping bag, cook stove, food -- and medicine he had been taking daily for diabetes, high blood pressure and a thyroid conditionHis wife, Carol, said she doesn't expect to see her husband of 44 years again.". Nancy said that Richard had come over in March or April to use their fax machine to send out job applications, and that he had seemed despondent about his prospects. Dolly and Heidi ruled out suicide: Rick had never shown any inclination, and they didnt believe he would abandon the children, who were 5, 9, and 13 at the time. He was 35 years old. His patched together boat was found on a beach at Cape Douglas. She understands why they ask. Bush pilot Harley McMahan dropped Harper off near 7,000 feet on the. The colors are marked on poles lining trails between villages commonly used by residents who travel around the region. Girdwood is a densely forested area. The letter had been hand-delivered by Captain Andy Greenstreet, the commander of the detachment that covers the Kenai. One of Leons favorite pictures is of Richard at age 5, wearing fishing boots given to him by his grandfather. Then they noticed some bones scattered across a wide grassy area. The officer there now knew nothing of the case. Jenna Miller (@jmillwrites) / Twitter Dolly and Heidi contacted Leon shortly after getting the news. Sign Up. Griffis disappeared into country far wilder than that along the Stampede Trail where hunters in August 1992 found the body of another missing man -- 24-year-old Chris McCandless. But you cant ignore that theres a possibility. The Alaskan bush would suit his sons temperament and skills. Good Samaritan Gerald DeBerry disappeared in the foothills of the White Mountains while helping for a search for a missing woman in the fall of 2011. On February 24, 2004, he had been home from an oil-rig job for just a few days when he left Soldotna in his red Dodge truck to pick up a paycheck in Anchorage, about 150 miles away. Alaska's 586,000 square miles afford countless ways to get lost, by fate or design. They found nothing. That means one of every 161 people goes missing in the state, which has a population of nearly 644,000. The body found in 2005 and released to the Bennett family in 2006 was not Richard Bennett. "There are eight people missing'' in the Seward area since 1993, she added, and trooper files hold an unknown number of cases of people who disappeared before that date. People on foot scoured all likely routes down the east side of Mount Marathon. Last year, 2,295 people were reported missing in the state. Then there are the people who are not really lost. Only a decade ago, mountaineer Jason Harper went so far missing in Wrangell-St. Elias Park that Alaska State Troopers don't even list him on their "active list" of missing people. We never found his firearms, she reminded me on several occasions. Harper was in an area so remote that it is believed no one will ever stumble on his remains. Included are black flags, which mark locations where unidentified human remains have been found. He never made it. The body of Nephi Soper, who went missing in the Chugach Mountains above Anchorage in February, was found on an iceberg in Taniana Lake in June. It is hard the family and friends of all of the missing who live with never knowing. People are swept away in the river and their bodies are never found, so it cant be ruled out, Trooper Mike Brandenburger said. The mother-daughter reunion is now Alaskan legend. Not a hint German adventurer Thomas Seibold has been discovered since he disappeared in November 2012. There is only hope of closure for the family, hope that a loved one can be brought home for the last time. There are places out there with enough space for a man to remake himself without anyone bothering him. Searchers in aircraft repeatedly combed the route from his drop off to the summit. They got together for the first time on a sunny Sunday morning in February 2015. But the lab warned that the test could take up to 18 months, and the Bennetts wanted to bury their son. She became confused easily. Two years after 68-year-old Paul Schoch from Brule, Wisconsin disappeared in 4,500-foot Skolai Pass in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park, hikers discovered his remains about 12 miles from where park rangers had earlier found his campsite. It never did. Dolly recruited snowmobilers and pilots to go over the search area again and again. Jenna Miller. Richard always wore blue sweats., Leon can barely talk about the scene now, but at the time, he kept his emotions in check. Troopers search for missing Fairbanks woman. Great Smoky Mountains National Park in North Carolina and Tennessee is about a 20th the size, yet it attracts 134 times as many people every year. Jun 13, 2016 FAIRBANKS Alaska State Troopers are trying to find the location of a Fairbanks woman whose pickup truck was found abandoned along the Parks Highway near Healy on Sunday. In June 2014, soon after the discovery of the Funny River bones, Shuey asked for a list of people in the area whod gone missing in recent years. Late that night, she stared at the bag, beside her bed, and said, I never thought youd be in my bedroom again. Dolly laughed as she told the story. CORRECTION: This story was corrected on July 21, 2014 to reflect that Great Smoky Mountains National Park reaches into North Carolina, not South Carolina. We decided that with the information discovered during the investigation that it is reasonable to believe the human remains are that of Richard Bennett, he wrote in an official report on March 28. That means one of every 161 people goes. It was like he was planning on coming back.. It was a lucky discovery that brought closure for the family. -- in 1937 came within spitting distance of joining those who disappeared without a trace in Alaska. Amazingly enough, a few are found eventually. They thought he looked fine. The crowd cheered when Matt Novakovich won the 3.5-mile race in less than 45 minutes. Leon sat with his elbows propped on a small table, his hands clasped as if in prayer. At right is a photo of. i have a friend from long ago still missing. One man didnt want to be found, Hughes said. If a truck came along and ran me over, I wouldnt care, she said under her breath. He spoke slowly, his voice like gravel. ", Missing Persons Clearinghouse: http://www.dps.state.ak.us/ast/cib/Missing.htm, Newsletters: Get local news delivered directly to you, Chargers, Chemics will meet on Wednesday at Midland High, A pair of aces: BCW's Kochany, Lacourse have been lights out. They turned out to be those of Guenot. There was no evidence of criminal activity at the scene of the truck, troopers said. Search dogs lost his scent, as if Rick had been plucked from the snow and lifted straight into the air. The former was headed to an obvious destination before crowds of spectators -- and still disappeared. Human remains found in 1996 in Central, an Interior community of under 100 northeast of Fairbanks, were put into storage. He was the love of her life and she never moved on!! Dollys husband, Tom, helped but mostly kept busy with work. Lucy Ann Johnson was 77 when her daughter found her. His body is believed to be entombed in a glacial crevasse in a remote corner of the 49th state that once came close to claiming one of the most storied mountaineers in Alaska history. View phone numbers, addresses, public records, background check reports and possible arrest records for Jenna Dawn Miller in Anchorage . Bush pilot Harley McMahan dropped Harper off near 7,000 feet on the mountain on May 4, 2004. Tucked among the documents was the notification letter that the Bennetts had been waiting for in the months after theyd found the skeleton. "He finally agreed to call his mother when I told him, 'Look, if you don't call her, I'll have to file a big report.'". The search was expanded. thanks, Michele. In June, he left a note at the lodge saying he planned to go check on a nearby cabin. We cant wait that long.. Nobody knows for sure how many people have gone into the wild here and never come out. The Race Point timers, whod been high on the mountain in inclement weather for more than three hours, were headed down to warm up when they passed LeMaitre. We have used your information to see if you have a subscription with us, but did not find one. He would never be seen again. The latter left no one with any idea of where to look. By then, LeMaitre, who had disappeared wearing only black shorts, a black T-shirt, a black headband, white shoes, black-and-red gloves, and bib No. Valerie Sifsof , 43, from Anchorage walked away from the Granite Creek Campground along the Seward Higwhay in the summer of 2013 and simply vanished.