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NEED TO KNOW
- One man remains missing after he and two other men were riding snowmachines and a 4-wheeler in Alaska
- After the Alaska State Troopers deployed rescue crews near Lockhart Point, one man made it safely to the shore and another self-rescued before being transported to a clinic
- The Northwest Arctic Borough has warned residents to stay off the ice due to unsafe conditions
One man remains missing after he and two other men fell through the ice near Alaska’s Lockhart Point.
On Nov. 1 around 11:20 a.m., the Alaska State Troopers deployed rescue crews in response to a report of three men — all from Kotzebue — falling through the ice while riding two snowmachines and a 4-wheeler, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
Authorities have confirmed that one of the men made it safely to the shore while another self-rescued before being transported to a local area health clinic. The third, however, remains missing.
Multiple EMT personnel and local community members were already on scene providing assistance and searching for the third man prior to the Alaska State Troopers’ arrival, per the release. The Northwest Arctic Borough Search and Rescue and Kotzebue Fire Department are continuing to respond to the situation.
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Following the incident, the Northwest Arctic Borough warned people to refrain from going out on the ice unless they are actively assisting the rescue operation, noting that the conditions are unsafe.
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“KOTZEBUE: PLEASE DO NOT GO OUT TO THE ICE UNLESS YOU ARE COORDINATING WITH SEARCH AND RESCUE – THE ICE IS NOT SAFE,” the organization wrote on Facebook. “PLEASE KEEP OUR SEARCHERS SAFE BY COORDINATING THROUGH SEARCH AND RESCUE.”
In May, a similar incident was reported when the body of a 32-year-old man, Skye Rench, was found in Alaska’s Susitna River two months after he disappeared.
Rench had been traveling in a side-by-side ATV with four other adults when the vehicle “broke through the ice” on the river, Alaska State Troopers said when he first went missing in March. Three of the passengers escaped the water and survived while another person, Sean Kendall, was never found and presumed dead.



