The body of Harlan Kingeekuk of Savoonga was found around 6 p.m. Thursday after he had been missing for about five days. Local volunteer search ground crews recovered Kingeekuk’s body before a Coast Guard helicopter arrived on the scene.
A Savoonga Village Police Officer reported Kingeekuk missing four days after he left on a four-wheeler to visit an archaeological dig site. Local volunteer searchers located Kingeekuk’s ATV last Wednesday off the trail heading towards the east side of St. Lawrence Island.
Kingeekuk never made it to the dig site. His body was discovered the next evening somewhere between the site and the community of Savoonga. According to an Alaska State Trooper dispatch, Kingeekuk appeared to have suffered from hypothermia.
Kingeekuk’s body is being transported to Anchorage for an autopsy. He was 56 years old.
