Lost Fishing Partners Found Safe In Northwest Alaska

From Alaska’s News Source, good samaritans in the Northwest Arctic Borough are being credited with finding two Selawik fishing partners who were missing for three days. Here’s more:

According to Alaska State Troopers, 20-year-old Jane Kaiser and 41-year-old Timothy Snyder, of Selawik, left around 2 a.m. Sunday on snowmachines from Selwaik, and were found around 2 p.m. Wednesday.

Lee’s Sea Air pilot Lee “Bigboy” Staheli spotted Snyder approximately 16 nautical miles southwest of Noorvik near a channel of the Kobuk River.

“I spotted their wind-blown tracks on the river and followed them to a cabin where we found Tim standing on top of the cabin waiving us down,” Staheli said. “We were able to contact search and rescue in Noorvik and get them coordinates. Ely Cyrus was also out searching in his aircraft and we called him in to survey the area, he was able to land on the river ice and transport Tim and Jane back to Noorvik, the closest village.”

Here’s the Alaska State Troopers Dispatch with the original report that the duo was missing and the update when they were found:

AK22118100

Location: Selawik

Type: Search and Rescue

Dispatch Text:

Update 11/16: At approximately 2 pm on November 16, 2022, a private air carrier located both Snyder and Kaiser at a cabin near Noorvik. Both have been transported to Noorvik. We appreciate all of the search efforts by volunteer search and rescue teams and our partners at the US Coast Guard.

Original: On November 13, 2022, at 6:20 pm, the Alaska State Troopers were notified by the Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue Coordinator that 41-year-old Selawik resident Timothy Snyder and 20-year-old Selawik resident Jane Kaiser were overdue. The two adults reportedly departed Selawik on a snowmachine at around 2:00 am to check fishing nets near Selawik Lake. Local search and rescue teams searched the area on the ground and located their snowmachine trailer abandoned near the mouth of the Selawik River. They found no signs of Snyder or Kaiser. Search efforts continued on the ground and in the air on November 14; however, no new clues have been located. Search efforts are ongoing.  

*This release has been updated to reflect that the snowmachine trailer, not the snowmachine was located.