The body of an Eagle River man who fell to his death from a cliff over the Eklutna River canyon Tuesday evening was recovered around noon Wednesday, according to Chugiak Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company Chief Clifton Dalton.
Jeremiah Tikiun, 25, had been sitting on a rock near the edge of a steep cliff at Mile 1.5 Eklutna Lake Road when he slipped or tripped and tumbled several hundred feet, according to the Anchorage Police Department. Alcohol was thought to be a factor.
Friends he was with called 911 just before 9:30 p.m. Tuesday to report his fall.
The death was the second this year from a fall into the canyon, an easily accessible but hazardous spot along the road that climbs to Eklutna Lake from the Glenn Highway.
The Alaska Mountain Rescue Group conducted Wednesday's recovery mission with support from Chugiak Volunteer Fire and Rescue, according to Dalton.
Tikiun fell 500 to 1,000 feet, ending up near the edge of the Eklutna River, Dalton said.
Chugiak Volunteer Fire and Rescue provided several volunteers and a heavy rescue rig, stationed on the road, to serve as an anchor point as crews rappelled into the canyon to recover the body, Dalton said. The road was reopened Wednesday afternoon.
Jamarus Spires, 31, died in April when he slipped from the cliff while stopped at a roadside pullout with family members.
Chugiak Volunteer Fire and Rescue has responded to the pullout and the cliff a dozen times in the last 10 or 15 years, including once when someone drove his car off the cliff, Dalton said. Now there are concrete barriers to keep vehicles out, but people can still get to the edge on foot.
"From my perspective, they need to put up some fencing or something to prevent people from getting to the edge," he said. "It is not pretty. It's hazardous and dangerous."