A North Pole man returned to Homer safely last week after spending more than a day in Kachemak Bay State Park without a way to communicate. Troopers did not release his name or exact age.
The man was hunting near Halibut Cove and checked in with his wife in Homer regularly. Early Tuesday afternoon, his wife told the Alaska State Troopers she had not heard from him since the night prior. According to a trooper dispatch, the hunter used a satellite device to communicate and share his GPS location.
Troopers couldn’t reach him in the same way. They launched an aerial search in a Super Cub, a small single-engine plane, but didn’t find him or his campsite. They confirmed his last known location with the Garmin Response Center and searched the area with a helicopter at 7:35 p.m. In total, four people from Wildlife Troopers and Fish and Game took part in the search. When Troopers again could not find him, they planned to return the next day for aerial and ground searches.
As Wildlife Troopers and Fish and Game set out to begin their search Wednesday, a hiker texted the hunter’s wife saying he’d found him safe. She then relayed that to Troopers.
A biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game had been assisting with the search. He met the hunter at the ranger station in Halibut Cove and brought him back to Homer, where he reunited with his family. Troopers said he wasn’t injured.
Troopers have now carried out three search and rescue operations in Kachemak Bay this year.
