Search efforts continued Tuesday for two men reported missing Saturday after their boat capsized on the Kuskokwim River near Akiak, Alaska State Troopers said.
The men and a woman left Bethel in a 16-foot Lund on Saturday to head to Akiak, according to troopers spokesman John Dougherty. Akiak is roughly 42 air miles northeast of Bethel.
The boat began taking on water near Akiak and overturned around 11:30 p.m., Dougherty said. “The extra weight and lack of engine power slowed the boat until it tipped over backward from taking on water.”
The woman called a family member for help as the boat was sinking and her family contacted tribal police, Dougherty said.
She was able to grab a tree limb and rescue herself, Dougherty said. The woman was not injured, he said.
None of the people in the boat were wearing a life jacket, Dougherty said. The men could not be located. Residents searched the area overnight and troopers said they deployed a boat and plane to search Sunday morning.
Volunteers from Bethel Search and Rescue and residents from Akiak and Akiachak were searching Tuesday using sonar and drag hooks on the river, Dougherty said.