Missing Hunter’s Fate Is Solved With Identification Of Body’s DNA 17 Years Later

A mystery of a hunter whose fate has not been confirmed since disappearing 17 years ago has been solved. Here are some details from Alaska’s News Source:

 The identity of human remains found on Nunivak Island nearly two decades ago has been confirmed as a Togiak man who vanished after his snow machine broke through river ice in 2009, Alaska State Troopers announced.

George Smith Sr., 79 at the time of his disappearance, was identified through DNA analysis, the result of a push by Missing & Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) investigators to resolve a cluster of cold cases from the Dillingham and Togiak area.

Smith went missing April 30, 2009, while hunting with a companion on snow machines near Togiak. His machine broke through the ice on the Ungalikthluk River. Searches conducted at the time and in the days that followed turned up neither his body nor his machine, and he was eventually presumed dead.

Here’s also the Alaska State Troopers’ dispatch:

AK09034025

Location: Togiak

Type: Remains Identified

Dispatch Text:

On July 14, 2026, the Alaska State Troopers were notified that human remains found on Nunivak Island in October 2009 were confirmed to be George Smith Sr. On April 30, 2009, Smith and a companion had been hunting on snow machines when Smith’s machine broke through the ice on the Ungalikthluk River, near Togiak. Immediate and later searches were unsuccessful in locating Smith’s body or his machine and he was presumed deceased. Smith, a resident of Togiak, was 79 years old at the time.  

Smith’s remains were positively identified by DNA analysis. In February 2026, MMIP Investigators had occasion to find and collect a half dozen family reference samples, during an effort to identify a group of missing persons from the Dillingham and Togiak area. When the new DNA samples were processed through NamUS this year, a match resulted, 17 years after Smith went missing. Next of kin have been notified.