AK AK - Steve Keel, 61, missing from hunting trip, from TN - Aug 27, 2022

[RickshawFan]

I've seen only a morning coffee mentioned. In this case, if Steve went to retrieve the meat without having any food before, he might have a sudden drop of the sugar levels in his blood. Walking through the soggy, uneven terrain burns a lot of calories and hypoglycemia can bring disorientation and confusion, which is a very bad thing when you are in a middle of a very vast and very inhospitable nothing.

Exactly.

He could have been burning calories like crazy and not taking any in. This would mess with his brain. It may have been messing with his brain before he even left camp.

 

[crcgirl]

I have been following this case since the beginning and frustrated that the friend is being held with any responsibity. SK had hunting experience and was used to taking care of himself due to military training. He took risks going into a place that many hunters would have refused. We don't know what was said but it is unlikely his friend was asked to help and he refused. It is more likely that SK thought he was capable of his plan to get to the cache.

 

[RickshawFan]

I have been following this case since the beginning and frustrated that the friend is being held with any responsibity. SK had hunting experience and was used to taking care of himself due to military training. He took risks going into a place that many hunters would have refused. We don't know what was said but it is unlikely his friend was asked to help and he refused. It is more likely that SK thought he was capable of his plan to get to the cache.

My understanding is that SK declined the etrex and zoleo his partner offered, not that his partner refused to give SK help.

 

[neesaki]

I have been following this case since the beginning and frustrated that the friend is being held with any responsibity. SK had hunting experience and was used to taking care of himself due to military training. He took risks going into a place that many hunters would have refused. We don't know what was said but it is unlikely his friend was asked to help and he refused. It is more likely that SK thought he was capable of his plan to get to the cache.

I’m sure you’re right, in that SK would not have come out and asked for his help. But should his hunting buddy have offered ?
Why would he not have offered?

In addition, why did SK depart so late… close to 11:00 am, for such an arduous task? And after only having coffee? Was he in ill health? If so, more issues for concern.
IDK, maybe we’re missing some crucial information. If not, there are a lot of questions.

 

[watcher9]

On one of the pictures posted, we saw footprints. Would there have been footprints from the cache to the camp from the night before that SK would have followed back?
If no footprints to follow, would one end up naturally veering off on a straight line?

 

[RickshawFan]

I’m sure you’re right, in that SK would not have come out and asked for his help. But should his hunting buddy have offered ?
Why would he not have offered?

In addition, why did SK depart so late… close to 11:00 am, for such an arduous task? And after only having coffee? Was he in ill health? If so, more issues for concern.
IDK, maybe we’re missing some crucial information. If not, there are a lot of questions.

I think you're right about the timing being very late in the morning to get going. I can't figure out why they didn't head back to the cache the night before (it's light until late) after getting dinner and a rest.

Speaking of which, I suppose it's possible that the pair returned to camp at twilight the night before. 10 pm? Perhaps the cache got dropped precisely because they couldn't make it back to camp by nightfall? I wonder if they perhaps didn't have headlamps with them.....

Even if SK declined help from his partner, the partner could easily have elected to follow him with binoculars from the rise behind the tent. SK didn't have to know.

To me, some of the equipment and planning decisions show limited experience, and not just in this terrain. This doesn't mean the pair hadn't been out hunting a whole bunch. It just means they could have been very lucky until now.

To give an example.... When thru hikers are making their way along the Appalachain Trail, some become "experienced" and skilled, some not at all. After 2,000 miles of hiking. Frequency is not what matters, although it can be helpful. In 2016, 2 thru-hikers almost died in a blizzard on Mount Lafayette in NH. They were traveling "fast and light" (i.e. had almost nothing). Indeed, they would have died were it not for another thru hiker who came along a bit later and came upon them about frozen to death. He had a tent (and knew what to do with it in high wind) and rescued them. All three had hiked the same distance. What was the difference? One had relevant experience, the other 2 mistook "miles traveled" for "experience". They didn't understand terrain, weather, safety, appropriate apparel, risk, risk mitigation, ANY measures to keep them safe. They really had only managed the 2,000 miles by luck.

I believe we have the same situation here: a mis-application of "experience", with disastrous results.

 

[RickshawFan]

On one of the pictures posted, we saw footprints. Would there have been footprints from the cache to the camp from the night before that SK would have followed back?
If no footprints to follow, would one end up naturally veering off on a straight line?

It's possible that a lot of the walking in tundra takes place on top of vegetation hummocks, so SK wouldn't have been able to retrace his footsteps to get to the cache. But I've never been there....

 

[Black Diamond]

n addition, why did SK depart so late… close to 11:00 am, for such an arduous task? And after only having coffee? Was he in ill health? If so, more issues for concern.

Leaving at 10:00 am to walk a half a mile and carry a heavy backpack back is not arduous. He had all day to do something that was probably thought to be less than an hour task. So it was actually the opposite.

I’d compare it to driving a 1/4 mile and not wearing your seatbelt. Seems like they were both complacent about SK’s short walk because the task was so minor.

 

[Black Diamond]

Alaskan officials end formal search for missing Tennessee man

Keel, of Dover, Tennessee, was officially reported missing Aug. 28 during a hunting trip in Alaska.

www.wsmv.com

 

[WingsOverTX]

Alaskan officials end formal search for missing Tennessee man

Keel, of Dover, Tennessee, was officially reported missing Aug. 28 during a hunting trip in Alaska.

www.wsmv.com

“This case will remain active as an overdue/missing person case with North Slope Borough Search and Rescue and North Slope Borough Police Department,” a Facebook post said. “Any evidence or information that may lead to the conclusion of this case is still requested.”

Winter conditions are moving in.

Tragic loss. As great as adventure here on earth can be, eternity is the greatest adventure of all.

RIP, sir. Condolences to all who will miss you.

 

[RickshawFan]

I wonder if SK was hard of hearing and couldn’t hear the highway or the shot his partner fired?

 

[RickshawFan]

Leaving at 10:00 am to walk a half a mile and carry a heavy backpack back is not arduous. He had all day to do something that was probably thought to be less than an hour task. So it was actually the opposite.

I’d compare it to driving a 1/4 mile and not wearing your seatbelt. Seems like they were both complacent about SK’s short walk because the task was so minor.

I think if it was that minor, they would have collected it the night before after a quick dinner. Unless they came in really late to camp the night before.
And they were preparing to go back home, no?

 

[Black Diamond]

I think if it was that minor, they would have collected it the night before after a quick dinner. Unless they came in really late to camp the night before.
And they were preparing to go back home, no?

I picture it going something like this:
“We’ve lugged this heavy pack a few miles, we’re tired, it’s getting late, we’re both hungry, and we’re not too far from camp. I’ll just drop the pack here and come back for it in the morning.”

 

[Black Diamond]

Also don’t forget this. When this story originally broke, it was reported that the pack was dropped to keep the meat away from camp for fear of bears. We later found out that there was meat already at the camp from the first caribou. So the reason for dropping the pack the previous day would not be for fear of bears coming into camp and would have been for some other reason.

 

[WingsOverTX]

Also don’t forget this. When this story originally broke, it was reported that the pack was dropped to keep the meat away from camp for fear of bears. We later found out that there was meat already at the camp from the first caribou. So the reason for dropping the pack the previous day would not be for fear of bears coming into camp and would have been for some other reason.

We still don't know what stories are factual. Maybe we never will.

But there are lessons to be learned from this venture into wilderness which would be made more valuable by a proper forensic of choices like setting up two camps, not notifying local LE of their presence or plans, etc.

Every decision had serious consequences IMO. Just distance & time from their meeting spot at their vehicle if separated added significant danger since travel was by foot only.

I was very concerned about learning of SK's leaving his meat pack out there (that info was withheld for too long IMO). When you abandon the prize of your trip to potential scavengers it is very serious even if you have plans to retrieve it.

The logistics of getting to that area of the Dalton Highway and far into hunting terrain then tracking caribou involved great risk, never mind the physical demands of such a hunt.

BC is a very lucky man. He could have perished out there, too.
JMO

 

[RickshawFan]

BC is a very lucky man. He could have perished out there, too.
JMO

Snipped for focus

GREAT point. FAB. IMO we've entirely neglected the risk for the hunting partner in these posts. The odds of a catastrophe were very high.

If SK managed to get lost in .7 miles from the camp, imagine how easily BC might have been lost between the camp and the vehicle..... He was by himself, and went that route a few times, evidently.

Once I saw a photo of the tent SK set up, I realized the risks the pair took were much higher than looked likely at first. The tent would have flattened in the wind in a heartbeat (and this is an area with high winds), and had the very meagerest of flies. It's for summer car camping in TN, where you can sleep in your car if you get wet or the whole tent goes flat on you.
So, yeah, just a glance at the tent..... and then the whole vague business of marking locations and directions with trekking poles (invisible ones, no less), and not being able to see one from the other, and having nothing to attach to them that would make them visible.....

 

[Gardenista]

Snipped for focus

GREAT point. FAB. IMO we've entirely neglected the risk for the hunting partner in these posts. The odds of a catastrophe were very high.

If SK managed to get lost in .7 miles from the camp, imagine how easily BC might have been lost between the camp and the vehicle..... He was by himself, and went that route a few times, evidently.

Once I saw a photo of the tent SK set up, I realized the risks the pair took were much higher than looked likely at first. The tent would have flattened in the wind in a heartbeat (and this is an area with high winds), and had the very meagerest of flies. It's for summer car camping in TN, where you can sleep in your car if you get wet or the whole tent goes flat on you.
So, yeah, just a glance at the tent..... and then the whole vague business of marking locations and directions with trekking poles (invisible ones, no less), and not being able to see one from the other, and having nothing to attach to them that would make them visible.....

BBM The walk from the tent to the vehicle was via the Winter Trail. They parked right next to it, and took it to their campsite. I doubt there are trail markers, but it's well marked on all of the topo maps

 

[charminglane]

BBM The walk from the tent to the vehicle was via the Winter Trail. They parked right next to it, and took it to their campsite. I doubt there are trail markers, but it's well marked on all of the topo maps

Thank you so much for the map.
So helpful.

 

[WingsOverTX]

BBM The walk from the tent to the vehicle was via the Winter Trail. They parked right next to it, and took it to their campsite. I doubt there are trail markers, but it's well marked on all of the topo maps

How is it marked outside snow season, when it is treacherous even though "maintained," according to this article from 2019.

With winter snow trails, North Slope Borough hopes to offer residents a safe path over tundra

“Near-deaths and freezing, running out of gas are some of the issues surrounding being able to go between communities,” said Gordon Brower, director of the North Slope Borough’s Planning and Community Services Department.

alaskapublic.org

They would have been better off using air transport, especially to remove their meat, IMO.

I gotta say "it's no walk in a park"!

I am curious how far from their night tent they hunted and how they navigated way out there. Finding a caribou path is easier with an outfitter to also help increase the odds of finding bulls.

Were they hauling unfrozen meat back to Fairbanks? It would have to be frozen to be transported home & BC's cache had been in the field several days.

Lots of questions without answers....

 

[Gardenista]

How is it marked outside snow season, when it is treacherous even though "maintained," according to this article from 2019.

With winter snow trails, North Slope Borough hopes to offer residents a safe path over tundra

“Near-deaths and freezing, running out of gas are some of the issues surrounding being able to go between communities,” said Gordon Brower, director of the North Slope Borough’s Planning and Community Services Department.

alaskapublic.org

They would have been better off using air transport, especially to remove their meat, IMO.

I gotta say "it's no walk in a park"!

I am curious how far from their night tent they hunted and how they navigated way out there. Finding a caribou path is easier with an outfitter to also help increase the odds of finding bulls.

Were they hauling unfrozen meat back to Fairbanks? It would have to be frozen to be transported home & BC's cache had been in the field several days.

Lots of questions without answers....

Looks like that plan was started just a few years ago. The Winter Trail on the map I showed goes back to the 1970's (at least) on topo maps. I don't know if that trail is part of their community trails or not.