Anchorage soldier reported overdue from hike in Chugach

Update, 6:45 a.m.: A search was expected to continue on Sunday for a soldier missing since Thursday when he started a solo hike in the Chugach Mountains above Anchorage.

Nephi Soper, 26, was last seen Thursday when a taxi dropped him off at the Prospect Heights trailhead on the Anchorage Hillside, according to Lt. Col. Candis Olmstead of the Alaska National Guard. Soper is a specialist with the the Guard's 1-297th Reconnaissance and Surveillance Battalion, she said.

Soper had a large backpack and had planned to hike through the Campbell Creek and Ship Creek valleys, Olmstead said. Earlier, Anchorage police and Alaska State Troopers had said Soper had started at Flattop Mountain further up the Hillside.

Alaska Mountain Rescue Group conducted a ground search Saturday night and was planning to continue and intensify the search on Sunday, Olmstead said. Earlier, National Guard helicopter crews flew over the mountains. Alaska State Troopers are overseeing the search effort, she said.

Snow moved into the area Saturday and was expected to continue through the day Sunday.

"At this time, we do not know Specialist Nephi Soper's whereabouts or condition, but are obviously concerned," said Brig. Gen. Laurie Hummel, adjutant general for the Alaska National Guard said in a written statement. "We are hopeful that he is uninjured and that the hike is just taking longer than anticipated."

Earlier story:

Alaska State Troopers say an Anchorage soldier is missing after failing to return from a solo hike in the Chugach Mountains.

Soper planned to hike from Flattop to Long Lake and into the Ship Creek Valley, troopers said in a Saturday dispatch. He planned to exit onto Arctic Valley Road and go to Fort Richardson for training, the dispatch said. Troopers spokeswoman Beth Ipsen said in an email that Soper is a National Guard soldier.

Ipsen said Soper was expected back at 6 p.m. Friday. She said there isn't anything to suggest Soper is in danger, but she said troopers don't know for sure.

Soper was last seen by a cab driver at the Flattop trailhead about 7 p.m. Thursday. He is likely wearing military-issued clothing, troopers said.

Anyone with information on Soper is being asked to call troopers at 907-262-4453.