AK AK - Hari Karasani, 24, missing from Healy, 31 December 2025

[GraceG]

This will sound crazy, but I am possibly familiar with this kind of a strange trip he is on.

I am just reading through this thread now---but it is like Deja Vu for me.

When my younger brother was about 21-22, he started doing very odd things. He once took an unexpected trip from SF Bay Area to Honolulu. He had my mom's emergency credit card she gave him in case of necessities.

And he did not contact us for a couple of days, but my mom saw notification of the one way airline ticket, and then a hotel charge. We began calling the hotel but he never called back.

I got one garbled message from him around day 5, saying he was 'looking for answers' and could not return home yet.

Needless to say, this trip was the beginning of our mental health awareness journey for my little brother and he was eventually diagnosed with schizophrenia.

Eventually the Honolulu police called my older brother---my little bro had his phone number in his jeans pocket. My bro was found, alive but beaten up, alone on a mountain trail. He did not remember what happened but he must have angered someone. My older brother flew to Hawaii and brought him back home after he recovered from his injuries.

I'm so sorry you had to go through this. But I'm glad your older brother was able to bring your younger brother home safely.

 

[GraceG]

Does not seem to me a proper outfit for those temperatures. when was the photo sent?

Since the screen shot with the phone data was posted on a missing persons board by his college friend, and isn't an approved source I can't post for the group. The odd thing was, the phone number attached to his name was a New Hampshire area code I traced back to a 74 year old woman.

 

[katydid23]

I can't find any updates for Hari.

 

[katydid23]

It really sounded to me like Hari was making a lot of unrealistic, nonsensical decisions. And was not communicating with concerned friends and family. It does remind me of someone who was not thinking clearly and in kind of a manic phase when they decided to travel to Alaska, while being wildly unprepared for the reality of their situation.

My brother , who took a similar trip, eventually revealed to me that he had the epiphany that there would be a Hawaiian Chief, on the top of the tallest mountain, that would answer all of my brothers urgent questions. All he needed to do was travel there and go on the spiritual journey. And he said he was walking the mountain trails, looking for locals and asking them where their chief could be found.

What could go wrong?

 

[CuriousCricket]

An angle I've not seen discussed is the date - New Year's Eve. Now, of course, the US's celebration of Jan. 1 as New Year's Day would be different from Hari's recognition of a new year. However, since he was living in a new country and had traveled to a unique location, might he not be interested in seeing a New Year's Eve celebration Alaskan style?

I don't suggest that is the reason he went to Alaska in the first place. It sounds as though he may not have been aware of the holiday until he tried to book a flight home on Jan. 1 and discovered how much more expensive it is to travel on holidays. However, once he learned that, perhaps he decided to check out a celebration?

We were in Santa Fe for the Summer Solstice and did exactly that.

My brain can't help wondering if the date is important.

 

[GraceG]

An angle I've not seen discussed is the date - New Year's Eve. Now, of course, the US's celebration of Jan. 1 as New Year's Day would be different from Hari's recognition of a new year. However, since he was living in a new country and had traveled to a unique location, might he not be interested in seeing a New Year's Eve celebration Alaskan style?

I don't suggest that is the reason he went to Alaska in the first place. It sounds as though he may not have been aware of the holiday until he tried to book a flight home on Jan. 1 and discovered how much more expensive it is to travel on holidays. However, once he learned that, perhaps he decided to check out a celebration?

We were in Santa Fe for the Summer Solstice and did exactly that.

My brain can't help wondering if the date is important.

A very unique perspective and one I'd not thought of! But in thinking about it, I think if he'd been aware of it as a holiday he'd have bought his return plane ticket ahead of time to save $$. Also, there is no unique celebration of New Years in Alaska that I am aware of (with the weather people are home, for the most part). With all but maybe one or two eating establishment in Healy closed for the season (gogle maps showed most places temporarioly closed) I don't think there would be any "celebration" to speak of.