Missing Nome snowmachiners found dead, troopers say

Two Nome residents missing since Sunday were found dead Tuesday near the snowmachine they were riding together, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Charlene Habros, 34, and Dustin Gologergen, 55, left the Western Alaska village of Teller around 5 p.m. Sunday on a single snowmachine on the 73-mile Nome-Teller Highway, troopers said Tuesday. Habros and Gologergen were expected to reach Nome two to three hours later but never arrived.

The crew of an Alaska National Guard C-130 spotted a snowmachine near Mile 41 of the highway, but bad weather and poor visibility hampered ground search efforts and attempts to reach the area. A blizzard warning Tuesday near Teller and surrounding Bering Strait coastal communities forecast wind gusts up to 50 mph with blowing snow amid dangerous cold.

Around 3:15 p.m. Tuesday, a search team arrived at the snowmachine location and found Habros and Gologergen, troopers said.

Along with troopers and the National Guard, the search effort included teams from Nome and Teller and road-clearing crews from Nome.