Search and rescue crews continued to look for two missing men near Sitka over the weekend.

31-year-old Josiah Bracken and 50-year-old Quinn Whitten were reported missing on December 15. They were last seen on December 13, with plans to travel by boat to a float house in Camp Coogan Bay, about five nautical miles southeast of Sitka. The two men planned to return to Sitka the following day, but have not been seen since.

Alaska State Troopers representative Austin McDaniel said that Sitka Search and Rescue and the local fire department conducted targeted searches for the two men this past weekend, using specialized tools like sonar and a remotely-operated underwater drone.

“That search turned up to zero positive results,” said McDaniel. 

McDaniel says they are not planning more searches, barring new information. McDaniel says if they receive new information, they will work with search and rescue partners in the area to determine if additional searching is necessary. 

 Sitka Police say  they are investigating an alleged theft of numerous items from the Camp Coogan float house that Bracken and Whitten were traveling to. The theft was reported by a family member of one of the missing men on December 21.  

On Monday (12-22-25) , Bracken and Whitten’s families released a joint statement imploring officials to continue recovery and investigation efforts. They are also calling for public support, from recruiting the assistance of volunteers with qualified experience in maritime search and Bracken’s family has opened a GoFundMe to support recovery efforts. 

McDaniel says any new first-hand information can be shared with Alaska Wildlife Troopers at 907-747-3254.

Editor’s Note: This story has been updated to correct the date Bracken and Quinn were last seen, which was December 13.

Sitka Search & Rescue and the US Coast Guard safely recovered a man who had become stranded on top of a local peak on Saturday afternoon.

Fire engineer Karl Muench says a 9-1-1 call came in just before 6 p.m. from a man who had summited Mt. Verstovia – known locally as Arrowhead Peak – and could not find the route down.

Given the late hour, Muench says 17 search and rescue volunteers mobilized on the possibility that the man would have to be brought down the peak. State troopers informed the Coast Guard of the situation, and Air Station Sitka subsequently launched a rescue helicopter with three Sitka SAR members on board.

Once on scene, the helicopter was unable to land, so a Coast Guard rescue swimmer was lowered to assist the man into a basket, and he was hoisted aboard for a ride back to the airport.

Muench says the circumstances of the rescue aren’t that unusual.  Responders encourage everyone who uses mountain trails to carefully consider all conditions, and whether or not to climb in areas that may be unsafe – or impossible – to come down.

Nearly a month after 28-year-old Jedidiah Kowchee was reported missing in Sitka, police and search crews have turned up few leads. Jerry Kowchee, Jedidiah’s father, is still holding out hope that his son will be found safe.

“I know it may seem like it’s remote, but I want to continue to pray that he does come home safe, that we do find him safe and okay,” Kowchee said.

Jedidiah Kowchee was reported missing on December 15, 2023. Security footage from AC Lakeside grocery store showed Kowchee leaving Orion Sporting Goods around 4 p.m. on December 13. Since then, Sitka Search and Rescue and volunteer teams have conducted ground searches of the area. In a January 5 press release, the Sitka Police Department said that they are “actively searching and exploring every avenue possible in an attempt to locate Jedidiah.”

Jerry Kowchee said his son, who has been living with him since fall 2023, enjoys hiking, but that it’s out of character for him to be gone for more than a day.

“It was not like him,” Kowchee said. “Like I said, the only trips that he took were just day trips and he’d come home.”

Kowchee said he’s grateful for the support of the Sitka community and first responders.

“I want to thank everyone that’s been involved with the search for Jed,” Kowchee said. “Sitka Tribe, Search and rescue, the police department, they’ve been doing their due diligence, and I appreciate all their help, all the work that they’ve put into investigating.”

Police have emphasized the need for additional leads from the community to help direct search efforts. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Sitka Police Department at 907-747-3245 or call the anonymous tip line at 907-747-8980.

Responders searched for a juvenile hiker reported missing near Herring Cove in Sitka for about five hours Monday night (8-21-23), only to learn that the person was located miles away, in town. 

Sitka Police, Coast Guard, and 13 members of Sitka Search and Rescue responded to a report of a missing juvenile at about 7:30 pm Monday near the Herring Cove trailhead. Shortly after beginning the search, responders encountered a bear in the area, and State Troopers arrived soon after to provide additional support. 

In an interview with KCAW, Fire Chief Craig Warren said that because the report was received in the evening and indicated that the hiker was not dressed warmly, a swift, robust response was necessary. 

“This was a short-notice, complex SAR that had a lot  of moving parts,” Warren said. “We had 13 fire department members, we had a Coast guard helicopter, we had Fish and Wildlife Troopers, we had Sitka PD. There were a lot of people out there for about five hours working to try to bring the person home safely.”

According to Sitka Police Department spokesperson Serena Wild, the report said that the juvenile had gone into the woods looking for a dog about an hour before the initial call was received. The caller stated that she heard a scream and the juvenile didn’t return.  

Wild said that it’s unclear when or how the juvenile returned to town. State Troopers are investigating the incident further.

Searchers recovered the body of an overdue hiker from Sitka’s Mt. Verstovia Friday evening (11-4-22).

76-year old Mike Motti was a veteran of Sitka’s Mountain Rescue team, who regularly climbed above treeline to a knoll overlooking Sitka, known locally as Picnic Rock, to celebrate his birthday.

Troopers were notified around 5 p.m. that Motti was overdue from his annual trek up the mountain. A ground team was deployed, as was a helicopter from Air Station Sitka.

Searcher’s found Motti’s body about two hours later, beside the trail just below Picnic Rock, where he had apparently died of natural causes.

Motti was a fixture in emergency medical services in the region. Over his career, he helped organize and lead an emergency medevac department for the Southeast Alaska Regional Health Consortium, prior to the advent of commercial medevac services. He was a wilderness medical associates instructor who taught many wilderness EMT courses for a variety of first-response agencies. A former colleague for many years on Sitka Search and Rescue, Don Kluting, remembers that Motti had an understated approach to training. On Kluting’s very first day on the team, Motti harnessed him to ropes, and sent him down a 100-foot cliff.

“You know my knees were shaking I’m sure as I went over the edge,” said Kluting, describing his very first hour in training. “I’ve never rapelled before, I’d never been lowered over a rock face before or anything. And here I am being introduced to this gentleman that I’ve never met before. And you know, he’s in charge. And he’s tied this rope off to a tree. And they’re talking about, ‘Yeah, we’re just going to lower you over this edge and down to the bottom.”

Kluting would eventually become captain of Sitka Search and Rescue, and serve alongside Motti for 29 years.

Motti joined the organization in March of 1983, and was still an active volunteer when he died. In fact, current Sitka Search and Rescue captain Matt Hunter says Motti was the team’s “most active member,” working as search dog handler, medic, and most recently, leading the incident management team. 

Don Kluting doesn’t know how many lives Motti can be credited with saving, but he believes the way his life ended will resonate with the people who are dedicated to this line of work.

“How fitting is this, that he gets his last helicopter ride, and it’s a beautiful night, the moon’s out,” said Kluting, “and he died with his back against the tree looking at the most beautiful view ever.”

Memorial services for Mike Motti are pending.

A SAR team member helps a teenage boy retreat down a cliff face, after he became stuck during a climbing session, Saturday (Photo provided by Dave Miller)

Sitka’s Search and Rescue team helped a teenage boy who found himself stuck between a rock and a hard place during a climbing session over the weekend.

Sitka Fire Chief Dave Miller said the call came in on Saturday (6-13-20) just before 5 p.m. about a young man stuck on a rock face just off Nelson Logging Road near the Starrigavan Estuary. 

“He was climbing up the face of this little rock, got about 25 feet or so up, and couldn’t go up, couldn’t come down,” Miller said. “So being the smart guy that he was, he called and asked for help, or his buddies did I think, and we responded out there with a rope rescue team.”

Five Search and Rescue members approached him from 20 feet above, lowered a team member down, and were able to get the teen to safety without the use of a basket. Miller said the teenager had good footing and was able to wait without too much stress while the team assembled their rope system.

“He had four or five friends there who were just giving him a good razzling or heckling for getting stuck,” said Miller. “Everybody was good, he wasn’t in dire danger. But he just couldn’t really move either.”

Typically the Search and Rescue ropes team practices frequently, but this year they haven’t been able to run regular drills.

“Since this whole COVID thing started they haven’t been able to train and everything, so it was a good training exercise too at the same time. It went really well,” said Miller. “The young man was very good, so he wasn’t too shook up about being up there, so there was no real big hurry. It was good.”

Miller said from start to finish, the rescue took around 45 minutes.

The shelter on Gavan Hill is about 3 miles up from the trailhead on the Cross Trail. (Emily Russell/KCAW)

A winter hiker is safe after spending Thursday night stranded on Gavan Hill.

Sitka Fire Chief Dave Miller said the station got a call around 5 p.m. Thursday from a man in his mid-30s who had planned the spend the night in the Gavan Hill shelter, but, said Miller, “he couldn’t get in– the shelter was snowed in.”

“He didn’t have a shovel to dig himself into the cabin,” Miller said. “He had a small tarp-type tent, but not a tent-tent, and a sleeping bag and stuff like that.”

Miller said the hiker did have a stove with him, but forgot the fuel cartridge, so couldn’t boil water to keep warm. Four people from Sitka’s volunteer search and rescue team were assembled and set out around 8 p.m.

“And they arrived up at the shelter at about 2 a.m. Friday morning,” Miller said. “[They] got him some food cooked up and warmed up and in a tent sleeping.”

The whole team spent the night on Gavan Hill and hiked down later Friday morning, arriving in town around 12:30 p.m.

Sitka has seen heavy snowfall over the last couple of days and whiteout conditions earlier this morning. Miller said there’s more snow in the forecast.

“You know the weather is supposed to stay like this,” Miller said. “It looked like, roughly for the rest of the week, on and off snowstorms. Just prepare for it.”

Miller urged hikers to have a cellphone that’s charged and a radio that’s charged and ready to go, as well.

“And make sure you have everything to stay warm– a good sleeping bag and a tent, because the weather is changing fast,” Miller said. “Every time you turn around it’s something different.”

The hiker, who Miller only identified as a 33-year old man visiting Sitka  from Pennsylvania, was uninjured after the incident.

A Coast Guard helicopter searches Tuesday (9-21-16) for a missing man last seen on the Mt. Verstovia Trail on Monday. (Photo by Eugene Solovyov)

UPDATE: Body of missing hiker found

The body of Michael Hansen was found by searchers earlier today (09/23/16). Thirty-seven year-old Hansen was a former Army ranger and moved to Sitka earlier this summer.

Hansen’s family has been notified of his death. The investigation is ongoing.

Update 3: Sitka’s Search and Rescue team is looking for additional help as the search for Michael Hansen continues through the weekend. The 37 year-old was last seen on the Mt. Verstovia trail Monday morning (9-19-16).

Search captain Lance Ewers said more than fifty people have been involved in the effort so far.

“We’ve had the US Forest Service, we’ve had the Alaska State Troopers, the Sitka Police Department, all the volunteers from all the different divisions of the Fire Hall, and community members.” 

While weather has been wet and windy the last few days, Ewers says that hasn’t stopped people from showing up and helping out every day this week..

“We’ve been going up and down and up and down and through the brush and pouding brush and it is tiring work,” Ewers explained, “so we’re at the point where we sure can use some help.”

Each search party is equipped with a global positioning system. At the end of every day, Ewers said the GPS tracks are overlaid on a map of the mountain.

Ewers urged interested volunteers to first report to the Fire Hall to prevent duplicated efforts.

“If there are folks familiar with the Indian River drainage area as well as Verstovia Mountain and they’re able and willing to come down to our Fire Hall here and receive an assignment that would deeply appreciated.”

Ewers said the search will continue until every possible route up the mountain is covered.

Update 2: Despite today’s (9-22-16) bad weather, search and rescue crews continued to look for Michael Hansen, last seen Monday on the Mt. Verstovia Trail.

High winds kept most searchers off the mountain this morning. But they resumed their efforts this afternoon.

Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters says searchers, including dog teams from Juneau and Sitka, have found no sign of Hansen.

At one point, a searcher spotted an object that appeared to be out of place in an avalanche chute. But Sitka Search and Rescue’s Karen Royce says it didn’t turn out to be anything that could help locate the missing man.

She says crews will continue looking for Hansen on Friday (9-23-16) . She says they’ve already covered a large area of ground.

The 37-year old former Army ranger is described as 5 feet, 9 inches tall, weighing about 180 pounds, with a short, military-style haircut. His eyes and hair are brown.

Update: Searchers today (9-22-16) continued looking for a Sitka man last seen Monday on the Mt. Verstovia Trail.

Sitka Search and Rescue says crews were out this morning, trying to locate 37-year-old Michael Hansen. But the weather hampered the effort and searchers were expected to come down the mountain while a storm passed through.

No helicopters were flying today.

Earlier report: Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said hikers saw 37-year-old Michael Hansen on the steep, 2½-mile trail.

“We do know that he’s not well-dressed to spend a substantial amount of time in the outdoors, wearing street clothes and having a backpack with him,” she said. “But when you’re outside for longer than your planned quick day-hike, things can always get a bit hairy, especially when it’s cooler at nighttime.”

The National Weather Service predicts strong winds and heavy rain as a major storm moves in Thursday. Temperatures are expected to be in the 50s or the upper 40s.

Michael Hansen (Courtesy Sitka Search and Rescue)

Hansen is described as 5 feet, 9 inches tall, weighing about 180 pounds, with a short, military-style haircut. He has brown hair and brown eyes. Officials said he’s only been in town since July.

Peters said troopers are working with Sitka Search and Rescue, search dogs from Sitka and Juneau, and the U.S. Coast Guard.

“We do have ground searchers out again [Wednesday] going in and looking in the area as best as they can. The U.S. Coast Guard has supplied a helicopter to help ferry searchers going back and forth. And they’re also flying over the area to try to keep an eye out. And hopefully, they’ll be able to find him,” she said.

She said searchers would decide what to do next after comparing notes following  Wednesday’s search effort.

Anyone with relevant information is asked to call troopers at (907) 465-4000, Sitka Search and Rescue at 966-5770 or the Sitka Fire Department at 747-3233.

Michael Hansen was last seen leaving his apartment at 10:30 a.m. Monday. His vehicle was found at the Mount Verstovia Trailhead, off Sawmill Creek Road, at noon today  (09-20-16). (Courtesy Sitka Search and Rescue)

Sitka Search and Rescue is asking for the public’s assistance in finding a missing 37-year-old man thought to be on or near the Mt. Verstovia Trail.

Michael Hansen was last seen leaving his apartment at 10:30 a.m. Monday. His vehicle was found at the trailhead, off Sawmill Creek Road, at noon today (Tuesday).

Karen Royce of Search and Rescue says Hansen is 5 feet, 9 inches tall, weighing about 180 pounds, and has a short, military-style haircut. He has brown hair and brown eyes. She says he’s only been in town a few months.

An active search is ongoing in the area of the 2.5-mile trail, which is steep and rises 2,500 feet to a ridge.

Anyone with information is asked to call Sitka Search and Rescue at 966-5770 or the Sitka Fire Department at 747-3233.

Jesse Mills and his wife Amy Fyrdundel moved to Sitka two months ago from California (04-07-16).

Jesse Mills UPDATE – 5:00 PM 04-08-16

A 41-year old Sitka man missing in a kayak since Thursday morning is presumed dead.

The Coast Guard suspended the search for 41-year-old Jesse Mills of Sitka this afternoon (Friday 4-8-16). Mills was reported missing by his wife after he did not return from a solo kayaking trip on Wednesday night.  

During a first-light search Friday, a Coast Guard helicopter discovered an overturned kayak on Kasiana Island. A diver recovered the kayak, wedged between rocks with a paddle attached.

Lance Ewers, captain with Sitka Search and Rescue, says that SAR will deploy a search dog to Kasiana Island on Saturday. “We actually have specially trained dogs here in Sitka that know how to drive around in open skiffs and scent, just like they would scent in the woods. We’re hoping the dog will give us some indication of an area we can put our divers in,” he said.

Mills left his home in the 1400 block of Halibut Point Road at 10 PM Wednesday night, after telling his wife he was going for a walk. The weather that evening was rainy with winds 15 to 25 mph. Ewers noted that Mills did not leave a float plan.

Mills and his wife, Amy Fyrdundel, moved to Sitka from California two months ago. Several friends and co-workers set out in private vessels to search for Mills. Ewers spoke with their employer, Schmolck Mechanical Contractors, who described Mills and Fyrdundel as “really awesome, good, hard working people.”

Ewers added, “Both only have been in town for two months and have already built strong bonds with friendships. You could tell that with the outpouring people who wanted to help.”

While mobilized searching has been suspended, the USCG Cutter Liberty will remain in Sitka to coordinate volunteer searchers.

Jesse Mills UPDATE – 2:00 PM 04-08-16

The search for 41-year-old Jesse Mills of Sitka continues. During a first-light search this morning (4-8-16), the Coast Guard helicopter crew discovered an overturned kayak on Kasiana Island. A diver recovered the kayak, wedged between rocks with a paddle attached.

Lance Ewers, the captain of Sitka Mountain Rescue, said Mill’s wife, Amy Fyrdundel confirmed the kayak was a match.

The Coast Guard Cutter Liberty launched a small boat crew to investigate Kasiana Island. Sitka Search and Rescue organized a search dog and 20 volunteers from the Coast Guard base to comb the shore of Kasiana and the surrounding islands. Ewers said a dive team with the Sitka Fire Department is also working in the area.

The Air Station Sitka helicopter crew was diverted from the search to respond to a plane crash on Admiralty Island today. Petty Officer Shawn Eggert said that Air Station Sitka was mustering another helicopter crew this morning to take their place. 

Jesse Mills UPDATE – 5:00 PM 04-07-16

The Coast Guard, Sitka Police and Fire Departments are looking for 40-year-old Jesse Mills. The Sitka man was reported missing by his wife this (04-07-16) morning.

Mills left home Wednesday night, wearing a black sweatshirt and black Carhartts. His single kayak, which is described as a lime green and white Seaward, is also missing, prompting his wife to believe he went kayaking.

Coast Guard Sector Juneau assumed control of the case.

Petty Officer Shawn Eggert said that the crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Liberty and an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Sitka continue to search for Mills. A Sitka Fire Department boat, Sitka Police and good Samaritans are also actively looking. And their search is not limited to the water.

“We don’t have any information that he is indeed kayaking,” Eggert said. “That’s why the police department is also involved with doing shore searches and keeping an eye out for him there.”

The Coast Guard has been focusing their search throughout Northern Sitka Sound, as well as Japonski Island and the east side of Kruzof Island.

Eggert said the search will continue until further notice. “We don’t know if he’s in any danger, but that doesn’t negate the fact that it’s important to find him and make sure that he’s safe.”

Anyone with information that may assist with the search is encouraged to call the Sector Juneau command center at 907-463-2980.