Rafters find body of North Slope whale researcher caught in Chulitna River logjam

The body of a renowned Utqiaġvik whale researcher was found Sunday afternoon in the Chulitna River, more than a week after he went missing while rafting, Alaska State Troopers said.

John Craighead “Craig” George, 70, was knocked from his raft by a logjam on July 5 near Cantwell, according to troopers.

He and five others had departed that day for a five-day trip with two rafts and one packraft, one of George’s friends said last week.

[While the search for Utqiaġvik whale researcher continues, his friends and family reflect on his role in the community]

High water levels made it dangerous for search and rescue crews to immediately access the area where George disappeared, a spokesman for the troopers said. A dive team eventually cleared the logjam, and troopers searched by air while conditions were unsafe.

A group of rafters found George’s body around 3 p.m. Sunday roughly 7 1/2 air miles downriver from where he was last seen, troopers said. A wildlife trooper and helicopter crew responded to recover his remains and transport them to Fairbanks, troopers said.

George was an internationally acclaimed wildlife researcher who studied bowhead whales. He worked as a senior wildlife biologist for more than 30 years at the North Slope Borough Department of Wildlife Management.

[Alaska science: Craig George’s remarkable northern legacy]