Man falls through water-filled hole on Mendenhall Glacier, search called off due to danger
- Mark Sabbatini
- 22 minutes ago
- 2 min read
Visitor from Italy was with two other people who saw him fall into a stream on glacier’s surface that pushed him into opening, according to officials
By Mark Sabbatini
Juneau Independent
This is a developing story.
A man fell into a stream that carried him into a hole on the Mendenhall Glacier on Tuesday afternoon, with rescue officials unable to locate him before calling off the search, according to the Alaska State Troopers.
The name of the man, who is a resident of Italy, was not released in an AST report Wednesday afternoon that states efforts are ongoing to notify his next of kin.
Alaska Wildlife Troopers were notified at about 1:45 p.m. Tuesday "that an adult male had fallen into a stream on Mendenhall Glacier and was missing after he was pushed by the water into a small, vertical opening in the ice," according to the AST report.
"The two people he was traveling with could no longer see him once he fell into the opening," the report adds. "Juneau Mountain Rescue deployed a technical ice rescue team, who subsequently discovered the roughly 2-foot-wide hole was filled with rushing water. It was determined to be too dangerous to attempt to locate the missing man, pending any further leads."
The man and his companions were perhaps a mile beyond the face of the glacier when the incident happened, said Jackie Ebert, operations chief for Juneau Mountain Rescue.
"I think it was just a very unfortunate slip and fall, and loss of control due to momentum," she said.
Three fatalities involving falls by hikers have already occurred in Juneau this summer.
William Milks, 64, of Juneau, died from injuries after falling more than 100 feet near the Salmon Creek Dam on June 21. Marites Buenafe, 62, a cruise ship passenger from Kentucky, was reported missing after she departed on a hike July 1. She was found July 3 below a ridgeline on Mount Roberts. On Monday, Thomas Casey, 69, who was living in Juneau this summer, was found deceased after falling off-trail near the Mendenhall Glacier.
• Contact Mark Sabbatini at editor@juneauindependent.com or (907) 957-2306.
