JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska –
Members of the Alaska Army National Guard’s 1st Battalion, 207th Aviation Regiment, and the Alaska Air National Guard’s 210th, 211th, and 212th Rescue Squadrons continue the search today for a missing hiker in distress on Pioneer Peak, a mountain just south of Palmer that rises more than six thousand feet from its base near Knik River.
The hiker, who was hiking the 13.6 mile Pioneer Peak Trail alone, was reported in distress to the Alaska State Troopers early in the morning June 15 after she communicated with her husband expressing concerns about multiple bears nearby, according to the AST.
The AST contacted the Alaska Rescue Coordination Center at 4:18 a.m., which tasked the mission to the 1-207th AVN for aerial search. A UH-60M Black Hawk and crew departed shortly thereafter, and searched in the vicinity of Pioneer Peak Trail and surrounding areas all day, switching out pilots and crew once in the late afternoon. They also dropped off ground search teams with Alaska Mountain Rescue Group and MAT+SAR Search & Rescue at various locations along the trail to aid in the search.
Alaska Air National Guard pararescue personnel with the 212th RQS aboard an HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter from the 210th RQS, and a HC-130 Combat King II from the 211th RQS continued the search from 11:30 p.m. until approximately 4:30 a.m.
The Army Guard Black Hawk resumed the aerial search again this morning. The joint effort between Air and Army National Guard search and rescue teams, and the AK RCC has continued since early Tuesday morning, in a collaborative effort with the AST and ground SAR.
Additional volunteers from Anchorage Nordic Ski Patrol and Alaska Solstice Search Dogs are assisting with the ground search.
For additional information and updates visit the Alaska State Trooper dispatch:
https://dailydispatch.dps.alaska.gov/Home/DisplayIncident?incidentNumber=AK21065686