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

[Jade]

Why is that? The land is relatively flat, there are no trees....he was half a mile away. Why wouldn't he be seen?

Hope.someone can help us understand.

He was dressed like the vast surrounding terrain?

There are rolling hills in the landscape according to the local hunter that met the friend.

It's rocky. SK may have hunkered down near a rock blending in with it.

If SK was prone not feeling well or resting with the immense space he would probably be indistinct.


all imo

 

[RickshawFan]

Why is that? The land is relatively flat, there are no trees....he was half a mile away. Why wouldn't he be seen?

Hope.someone can help us understand.

The terrain is deceptive (cf he couldn’t even be spotted in flyovers). Not only that, he was undoubtedly wearing camo, designed to conceal himself.

 

[RickshawFan]

Camo, while popular in hunting circles, is designed to conceal you from other humans (e.g. in combat). It doesn’t do much, if anything, to conceal you from creatures. Around here, hunters wear fluorescent orange. Prey can’t pick them out, but other people can.
If only….

 

[Armchair63]

Prayer service held for Dover man missing in Alaska

Sunday marked day 15 of the search for Steve Keel from Dover, a hunter who went missing while on a hunting trip in Alaska.

www.wkrn.com

I have never been to Alaska but looking at the satellite view it appears to be a lot of bare land with a many bodies of water.
Is it possible that he may have walked on to one not knowing and fell through.
I would think that he had a gun with him and that if a wild animal was near he would have fired off a shot. A 1/4 mile is not far if that would have happened his hunting partner would have heard the shot at that distance and started looking.

 

[shefner]

It seems logical that an experienced hunter from Tennessee, who had been planning a hunting trip in Alaska, would be studying up on all information that would be needed for preparation of such a trip.
I don't hunt but have friends who do and who also go fishing in distant locations. They are constantly training and learning and studying before such adventures. They purchase special tools, clothing, and equipment, based on counsel and expertise from those who have been before.

Every hunter knows that going out alone for any distance would be less safe than traveling with a partner or two. Even ladies are told these days that going to the mall all alone on a busy night is unsafe.
This is why I have difficulty accepting the scenario we have been given concerning Steve.

 

[RickshawFan]

Prayer service held for Dover man missing in Alaska

Sunday marked day 15 of the search for Steve Keel from Dover, a hunter who went missing while on a hunting trip in Alaska.

www.wkrn.com

I have never been to Alaska but looking at the satellite view it appears to be a lot of bare land with a many bodies of water.
Is it possible that he may have walked on to one not knowing and fell through.
I would think that he had a gun with him and that if a wild animal was near he would have fired off a shot. A 1/4 mile is not far if that would have happened his hunting partner would have heard the shot at that distance and started looking.

Evidently, the distance was more than double 1/4 mile. But I'm also not sure if you heard a shot in that environment whether you'd be able to pin point where it came from.

 

[RickshawFan]

This was a rescue of a hunter posted today in Alaska. I'm putting it in here to give some idea of what the dangers are, and what the party and SAR do if things go right.

Dillingham moose hunter survives bear mauling

The man was hunting moose when he came upon the bear.

www.ktoo.org

 

[annpats]

The terrain is deceptive (cf he couldn’t even be spotted in flyovers). Not only that, he was undoubtedly wearing camo, designed to conceal himself.

Do the Alaskan SAR helicopters have a thermal camera so people will glow on the screen if still alive?

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Prayer service held for Dover man missing in Alaska

Sunday marked day 15 of the search for Steve Keel from Dover, a hunter who went missing while on a hunting trip in Alaska.

www.wkrn.com

“For him to disappear, as good of an outdoorsman as he is, was shocking. And for him to be gone this long is bewildering, it’s just a huge mystery,” Steve’s wife Liz Keel said. “Where he was headed was a simple chore, to go seven-tenths of a mile, pick up a backpack with meat in it and come back and to their campsite so they could pack up and head out.”

Liz is leaning on prayer and faith to get her through until she’s reunited with her husband.

“I just want to say how grateful I am to our community and this team that went up there and their families that allowed them to go. I say until they tell me something different I’m going to be hopeful.”

 

[RickshawFan]

Do the Alaskan SAR helicopters have a thermal camera so people will glow on the screen if still alive?

Some answers:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/alaska-search-rescue-technology-1.5057193

Thermal Imaging Cameras Donated To Villages For Use In Search And Rescue - Alaska Public Media

Sixteen handheld thermal imaging cameras will soon be in the hands of search-and-rescue teams in the Norton Sound region, thanks to a donation from Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation (NSEDC). Alaska State Troopers will be distributing these bi-ocular cameras to 15 member communities...

alaskapublic.org

Heat-sensitive camera called a ‘game changer’ for Alaska search and rescue

The new system mounted on two troopers helicopters has in some cases cut search times from days to minutes, said public safety officials.

www.adn.com

New camera technology improves Alaska rescue searches

Anchorage, Alaska (AP) - New technology is reducing Alaska search and rescue operations from days to minutes.

www.kinyradio.com

 

[RickshawFan]

So, I have a kind of basic orienting question. If you're in the arctic at this time of year, would it be easy to be unable to discriminate east from west by considering the location of the sun? This would make it easy to get turned around.

I'm not sure exactly how to think about this, since I've never been to the arctic. In the lower 48, from the point of view of a human, the sun goes up in the eastern half of the sky, and comes down in the western, making an arc. But maybe a human in northern AK this time of year doesn't experience the sun traveling in an arc overhead? It's more like the sun lingers in place?

 

[Black Diamond]

In reading the Facebook support group page, it seems like the search for Mr. Keel has pretty much fizzled out. It’s been 2 weeks without a trace of him. Winter in the Tundra is imminent I’m sure, and if nobody is looking, he won’t be found. Such a heartbreaking story. I would hope that at a minimum the police sit down for a long discussion with his hunting partner and rule out any sort of foul play before closing the books and assuming he got lost and died from exposure. I’m sure that isn’t the case, but due diligence seems necessary.

 

[JustMyself]

In reading the Facebook support group page, it seems like the search for Mr. Keel has pretty much fizzled out. It’s been 2 weeks without a trace of him. Winter in the Tundra is imminent I’m sure, and if nobody is looking, he won’t be found. Such a heartbreaking story. I would hope that at a minimum the police sit down for a long discussion with his hunting partner and rule out any sort of foul play before closing the books and assuming he got lost and died from exposure. I’m sure that isn’t the case, but due diligence seems necessary.

Agree totally with you on this.

 

[RickshawFan]

Lots of hunter rescues and "missings" in AK right now. Here's a successful helicopter rescue....a lot south of Deadhorse, but interesting to have comparators:

Arctic Guardians rescue injured hunter near Flat - Alaska Native News

JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guardsmen of the 176th Wing rescued an injured hunter Sept. 8 near Flat about 285 miles northwest of Anchorage. Alaska State Troopers requested support after the hunter messaged for help using a two-way satellite-communication device...

alaska-native-news.com

 

[acutename]

So, I have a kind of basic orienting question. If you're in the arctic at this time of year, would it be easy to be unable to discriminate east from west by considering the location of the sun? This would make it easy to get turned around.

I'm not sure exactly how to think about this, since I've never been to the arctic. In the lower 48, from the point of view of a human, the sun goes up in the eastern half of the sky, and comes down in the western, making an arc. But maybe a human in northern AK this time of year doesn't experience the sun traveling in an arc overhead? It's more like the sun lingers in place?

This chart shows hrs of daylight at Prudhoe Bay ... August 27 the day was from 5:45 a.m. to almost 10 p.m. so looking for the "setting sun" would not be easy. Not sure how many days they were there... i think that many people have trouble sleeping with all the daylight, IMO.

Sunrise and sunset times in Prudhoe Bay, August 2022

 

[RickshawFan]

This chart shows hrs of daylight at Prudhoe Bay ... August 27 the day was from 5:45 a.m. to almost 10 p.m. so looking for the "setting sun" would not be easy. Not sure how many days they were there... i think that many people have trouble sleeping with all the daylight, IMO.

Sunrise and sunset times in Prudhoe Bay, August 2022

Thanks. I'm thinking in the polar regions, a human might perceive the sun as having zero arc, because the longitudes converge.
I'm trying to figure out how one might easily get disoriented in the tundra this time of year (in addition to the other possibilities, like fog): if you can't distinguish between east and west, the odds of a mistake are 50/50.
But I'm guessing here, just brainstorming.

 

[5W's]

I agree with most everything, except a couple of points:
—these were not “experienced survivalists”; they may have gone hunting many times in TN, but experienced folks would much more completely have assessed and mitigated risk.
—SK could not be seen from the camp where he set out, even in broad daylight. That point is demonstrated simply by the inability to find him with aerial search, though the terrain looks like it’s a blank. Plus, locals appreciate how hard it is to find people. And yes, he was evidently in camo. Since he was done hunting, he and his buddy might easily have put on fluorescent orange vests if they were committed to their outfits: a very simple precaution.
An important visibility factor: the area is prone to fog.

If I look at backcountry cases where injured/lost folks are described as “experienced”, generally that’s by friends and family. It often means something like, “they’ve gone backcountry hiking/hunting/skiing/snowmobiling a bunch of times.” But this isn’t a measure of experience: it’s the luck of the draw. Most of the time, nothing will go wrong… But when your luck quotient is spent, and you haven’t assessed your real risks and prepared for them….Often, what we see missing are basics, outdoor skills 101, and not anything that would take years to learn.

Well, these two men have been hunting for years so there is experience in their activities. That experience can travel to a different terrain also. Secondly, both had been to the caribou cache previously without problems. So I see the other poster's puzzlement.

 

[BayouBelle_LA]

Well, these two men have been hunting for years so there is experience in their activities. That experience can travel to a different terrain also. Secondly, both had been to the caribou cache previously without problems. So I see the other poster's puzzlement.

Count me in as puzzled. They had been in the area nearly a week. They wouldn’t be sitting around the campfire waiting for the caribou to come to them. They likely walked for miles each day, stalking and hunting, with no problem returning to base camp. The problem occurred on the day they were expected to leave. Strange.

I know not everyone reacts in the same way to a crisis. But i can’t imagine not contacting someone even if just his family, when he didon’t return. Also the one gun shot is odd. I think avid hunters would know the rule of three shots if they were trying to alert another hunter. JMO

 

[RickshawFan]

Well, these two men have been hunting for years so there is experience in their activities. That experience can travel to a different terrain also. Secondly, both had been to the caribou cache previously without problems. So I see the other poster's puzzlement.

My understanding from^^^^^ is that it wasn’t a cache, i.e. planned stowage, but his rucksack full of meat that SK was unable to carry back from the hunt the day before, because of fatigue (or other). It was plopped somewhere out there. It was marked by a trekking pole.

 

[Speculaytor]

Exactly. Steve struggled with bringing the backpack of caribou in the first place, that's why it was left there, and marked, to fetch later.

So what's to say he wouldn't struggle with it a 2nd time?

His friend should really have gone with him, although I'm sure his friend probably wanted to, but maybe Steve insisted he'd be OK..... after all, it was less half a mile in an area with no trees, and they were experienced survivalists. He would've been able to see Steve during daylight.

They had no problem with the terrain before, nor did they find any quicksand areas.

And his body has not been seen by SAR helicopter, which sounds odd, but he was probably wearing camouflage clothing, so that makes sense why.

I really don't know what to make of it all really.

Why would he think he could deal with it alone if he had already struggled with it and that's why they left it? Seems like he went back to get something to help him move the caribou? I don't understand? It just seems likely a bear competing for the caribou to me, why would it not be?