Search ongoing for missing Northwest Alaska resident after boat capsizes on Kobuk River

Dozens of volunteers were searching with public safety officials for a missing boater Tuesday after a boat capsized on the Kobuk River north of Noorvik on Monday evening, officials said.

Around 8 p.m. Monday, Alaska State Troopers received a report of a capsized boat in the river north of Noorvik with five people on board, troopers said in an online report.

Four people were safe and were able to contact local authorities by VHF radio, troopers said. Kiana resident Brandon Sheldon, 30, remained missing.

Searchers from Noorvik, Kiana, Kotzebue, other villages and the Northwest Arctic Borough, as well as Village Public Safety Officers and Alaska State Troopers, were involved in search efforts, troopers said.

“There are over 30 boats involved” in the search, borough public safety director Chris Hatch said, “all volunteer.”

Alaska Wildlife Troopers were searching by air, troopers said.

“It’s been almost 24 hours and no body has been recovered,” Noorvik resident and former City Mayor Vern Cleveland said. “Search is going on effortlessly.”

It was not immediately clear what caused the boat to capsize or what the boaters’ activity on the river entailed, Hatch said.

Residents across Northwest Alaska shared accounts of the search along with photos on social media.