ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — The National Park Service is looking for two hikers who did not meet a scheduled air taxi pickup within Alaska's Wrangell-St. Elias National Park.
The hikers, a couple from Missouri, on Tuesday and Wednesday also failed to make two pre-planned satellite phone calls to their air taxi operator.
Gulkana-based Copper Valley Air Service on June 22 dropped the hikers at Sanford Glacier airstrip.
They planned a six-day backpacking trip east of Mount Drum across Dadina Plateau. They were scheduled to be picked up Wednesday morning at the Dadina River.
Their pilot searched Wednesday and called the park service.
The agency says that by 6 p.m. Thursday, 27 agency personnel and five aircraft were searching.
Three crews were flown to locations along the hikers' route to search on the ground.