Search teams look for 2 people missing in Northwest Alaska

Search efforts are continuing after two Selawik residents went missing Sunday, Alaska State Troopers said.

The Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue Coordinator notified troopers on the evening of Nov. 13 that Timothy Snyder, 41, and Jane Kaiser, 20, were overdue, troopers wrote in an online statement.

“The two adults reportedly departed Selawik on a snowmachine at around 2:00 a.m. to check fishing nets near Selawik Lake,” troopers said.

Local search and rescue teams found their snowmachine trailer near the mouth of the Selawik River, troopers said, but “no signs of Snyder or Kaiser.” No other clues have been found, troopers said, and both ground and air search efforts continued Monday.

“We’ve been searching around the clock,” Selawik Search and Rescue President Kirk Oviok said.

Two search and rescue crews on snowmachines were going out on Monday evening, and the residents were forming the third crew, Oviok said.

Buckland and Noorvik volunteers were assisting Selawik residents with the search and also with fuel for the snowmachines, Oviok said. The village also received help from the U.S. Coast Guard, he said.

“They spotted a trail going up river,” he said. “We’re gonna go concentrate on that.”