Alaska State Troopers and Valdez Fire Department Backcountry Search and Rescue teams looked for hours for a missing rafter before locating the person hung up on a rock in the river.
Troopers, Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Valdez Fire Department Backcountry Search and Rescue teams responded to the report about a rafter falling into water near Mile 32 of the Richardson Highway, about 4 miles upstream from the Tsaina Lodge and 40 miles east of Valdez, City of Valdez officialsRescuers searched the area for about 3 1/2 hours and located the body of the rafter hung up on a rock in the river, the statement said.
The rising water didn’t allow the ground search team to reach the rafter immediately. Once conditions changed, they deployed a two-person pack raft to recover the body, which was sent to the State Medical Examiner, troopersEarlier that afternoon, rescuers found the rafter’s companion, who sent a report about the incident via satellite communication device InReach. That person and the person who died were in separate rafts, troopers said.