News letter Sept. 14 1982

Alaska’s Trusted News Source

[Nearby Weather Featured:
Slightly Cloudy, with a
chance of scattered precipi
tation later this week.

VOL. 43 No. 87

“Circulating Around The Circle”

THE ARCTIC NEWS

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA. Monday, September 14, 1982

Member of The Associated Press.

Published Every
MONDAY,
WEDNESDAY,
FRIDAY

BREAKING NEWS: Local Field Hands
Missing —Search and Rescue Efforts Stall

Daniel Simmonds
News Contributor

Kotzebue, Alaska — Search
and rescue endeavors for two lo-
cals have been put on a hiatus fol-
lowing the sea storm that swept
south of Kotzebue, Alaska, this
past Tuesday afternoon.

The two missing individuals,
identified by authorities as Gene
Suli and Roscoe Stone, were al-
legedly part of an expedition as
field hands to collect data and
conduct measurements regarding
seabird nestings. They were both
last seen departing Kotzebue early
Monday morning. Local witness-
es claim they saw a group taking
leave in a smaller vessel, report-
edly identified as a Contessa 26.

The ongoing storm, causing
high sea levels near the gener-
al region south of Kotzebue past
Cape Blossom, is generating in-
tense conditions that pose a haz-
ard to the overall public. Dr. Barry
Raven, the head of the Kotzebue
Search and Rescue program, sug-
gested calling off the search due
to these haphazard circumstances.

“My team and I are proceed-
ing to track the system,” he said in
a Wednesday morning interview
for the Arctic Times. “Right now,

George Suli and Roscoe Stone on a research expedition. Photo courtesy of George Si

conditions aren’t safe enough to
be scouting around in. I think the
smart decision would be to call
off the search.”

Patty Stone, the spouse of
Roscoe Stone, has expressed her
dissatisfaction with the direction
the search efforts have taken.

“T really think someone
ought to keep looking,” Patty said
during the morning interview.
“You don’t just decide it’s too dif-
ficult. I know they’re out there.”

George Suli, brother of Gene
and the initial lead for Search and
Rescue, has declined to comment
on the matter since stepping aside
in his leadership role. “George,

he’s a good friend of mine. I
know he’d be out there looking
right now if they’d let him,” Noah
Kivigak, a subsistence advocate,
said. “But I do understand the rea-
son why they won’t let anyone go
out. Personally, even I wouldn’t
be going out in these waters, and
I traverse out there quite frequent-
ly.”

Before Dr. Raven’s call to place
searching efforts on hiatus, rescue
crews made various efforts during
the week to navigate the currents
surrounding Cape Blossom; how-
ever, every attempt was canceled
soon thereafter by degrading con-
ditions.

Single Copy 25cts.
Alaska’s Trusted News Source
“Circulating Around The Circle”
Member of The Associated Press.
THE ARCTIC NEWS
Nearby Weather Featured:
Slightly Cloudy, with a
chance of scattered precipi-
tation later this week.
Published Every
MONDAY,
WEDNESDAY,
FRIDAY
ANCHORAGE, ALASKA. Monday, September 14, 1982
Single Copy 25cts.
VOL. 43
No. 87
BREAKING NEWS: Local Field Hands
Missing—Search and Rescue Efforts Stall
Daniel Simmonds
News Contributor
Kotzebue, Alaska — Search
and rescue endeavors for two lo-
cals have been put on a hiatus fol-
lowing the sea storm that swept
south of Kotzebue, Alaska, this
past Tuesday afternoon.
The two missing individuals,
identified by authorities as Gene
Suli and Roscoe Stone, were al-
legedly part of an expedition as
field hands to collect data and
conduct measurements regarding
seabird nestings. They were both
last seen departing Kotzebue early
Monday morning. Local witness-
es claim they saw a group taking
leave in a smaller vessel, report-
edly identified as a Contessa 26.
The ongoing storm, causing
high sea levels near the gener-
al region south of Kotzebue past
Cape Blossom, is generating in-
tense conditions that pose a haz-
ard to the overall public. Dr. Barry
Raven, the head of the Kotzebue
Search and Rescue program, sug-
gested calling off the search due
to these haphazard circumstances.
“My team and I are proceed-
ing to track the system,” he said in
a Wednesday morning interview
for the Arctic Times. “Right now,
George Suli and Roscoe Stone on a research expedition. Photo courtesy of George Suli.
conditions aren’t safe enough to
be scouting around in. I think the
smart decision would be to call
off the search.”
Patty Stone, the spouse of
Roscoe Stone, has expressed her
dissatisfaction with the direction
the search efforts have taken.
“I really think someone
ought to keep looking,” Patty said
during the morning interview.
“You don’t just decide it’s too dif-
ficult. I know they’re out there.”
George Suli, brother of Gene
and the initial lead for Search and
Rescue, has declined to comment
on the matter since stepping aside
in his leadership role. “George,
he’s a good friend of mine. I
know he’d be out there looking
right now if they’d let him,” Noah
Kivigak, a subsistence advocate,
said. “But I do understand the rea-
son why they won’t let anyone go
out. Personally, even I wouldn’t
be going out in these waters, and
I traverse out there quite frequent-
ly.”
Before Dr. Raven’s call to place
searching efforts on hiatus, rescue
crews made various efforts during
the week to navigate the currents
surrounding Cape Blossom; how-
ever, every attempt was canceled
soon thereafter by degrading con-
ditions.