Search continues for missing Eagle River woman despite damaged sonar equipment

The search for a missing 45-year-old Eagle River woman continued Wednesday in the North Fork of Eagle River despite harsh winter weather that damaged a crucial piece of equipment, authorities say.

Amanda Richmond Rogers, who also went by Mandy, went into the river on Saturday afternoon when her dog fell through the ice along the North Fork trail. Her husband said she loved her pets and considered them to be family, so she jumped in to try to save the dog.

[Previously: Nurse was trying to save family dog when she went under the ice in Eagle River]

Anchorage police, firefighters and Alaska State Troopers searched the area by ground on Saturday and the Department of Public Safety used a helicopter to search, troopers said.

The nonprofit Alaska Dive Search, Rescue and Recovery Team joined the search Sunday and again took to the river on Tuesday and Wednesday. Alaska Solstice Search Dogs also joined the efforts on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The primary tool used by the dive search team to search under the ice, a sector scan sonar, was damaged and will need to undergo repairs, the organization wrote on social media Wednesday.

“Our sector scan sonar is used on every mission during the winter. It allows us the search under the ice quickly and efficiently by drilling holes in the ice in a grid and dropping the unit down to locate the subject,” the team said in the post. “The sector scan sonar is more than a search tool for us, as it increases diver safety by allowing us to locate a target before ever committing a diver to the water, it also allows us to guide the diver to the target and allows us to see hazards in the water that may not visible to the diver.”

The nonprofit plans to send the equipment to a company for repairs once they raise enough money to do so, they said. The group is run entirely by volunteers to provide the Alaska Department of Public Safety with the capability to do statewide water searches. They rely on donations to fix equipment.

Conditions on Tuesday included temperatures of 14 below zero, which takes a toll on the equipment, the organization wrote. They said repairs are also needed for their chain saw and ice auger.

The team planned to search on Wednesday using a remote video system equipped with sonar, the group said. Search efforts were continuing during daylight hours, Alaska State Troopers said.