Alaska News

Juneau hiker dies in apparent accident

A 25-year-old Juneau man was found dead Thursday after an apparent hiking accident near Mendenhall Glacier.

Ryan Johanson was reported missing in the Nugget Falls area around 6:45 p.m. Wednesday, Alaska State Troopers wrote in an online dispatch.

Johanson likely fell from a rock face next to the waterfall, which is a popular place to go climbing in the winter, said Capt. Travis Mead with Capital City Fire/Rescue.

Members of Juneau Mountain Rescue and the Southeast Alaska Dogs Organized for Ground Search started searching for him at 8:30 p.m., and around 10:15 p.m., his body was found in the water adjacent to Nugget Falls, troopers wrote.

"His death appears to be accidental," trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters wrote in an email.

Johanson's body will be sent to the State Medical Examiner Office in Anchorage for an autopsy. Foul play was not suspected, troopers wrote.

Laurel Andrews

Laurel Andrews was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch News and Alaska Dispatch. She left the ADN in October 2018.

ADVERTISEMENT