With no official confirmation, two recent missing persons cases remain open in Juneau

A missing poster for Joe Clayton on the downtown Foodland IGA bulletin board in Juneau, Alaska. Clayton has been missing since Aug. 20. (Matt Miller/KTOO)

There are two recent missing persons cases in Juneau. Officially, neither person has been found yet. 

One of them is Joseph Clayton. He has been missing since he went on a hike on Aug. 20. Four days later, some of his belongings were found at an abandoned campsite near the University of Alaska Southeast. 

Volunteers searched for him for days and Alaska State Troopers used dogs to search the area, but they were not able to find Clayton. 

There has been no update from the Juneau Police Department on that case since. The silver alert activated for Clayton was canceled on Sept. 22.

Another person was reported missing more recently — Douglas Farnsworth. His family reported him missing on Sept. 29. 

 

A graphic with details about Douglas Farnsworth who was last seen on Sept. 26. (Courtesy image)

His sister Kiersten Farnsworth thinks he might be dead. She flew up from Arizona to try and find her brother’s body. 

Farnsworth’s family told Juneau police that he was driving someone else’s truck. That truck was later found by Perseverance Trail. A Coast Guard helicopter searched that area last weekend during a break in the weather, but they did not find anything.

Canine search teams were not able to pick up Farnsworth’s scent in the area. His sister does not think he is in that area either. 

On Wednesday, a body was found near the Auke Bay Ferry Terminal. The Alaska Medical Examiner’s Office has not identified the body yet. JPD is not able to comment on whether the body is related to either of the missing persons cases until they get word from the medical examiner. 

Farnsworth’s family does not think the body found is his. They are still asking people in Juneau to look out for him. 

Anyone who knows something about a missing persons case can contact 907-586-0600 or make an anonymous report to Juneau’s Crime Line.

Lyndsey Brollini

Local News Reporter

I bring voices to my stories that have been historically underserved and underrepresented in news. I look at stories through a solutions-focused lens with a goal to benefit the community of Juneau and the state of Alaska.

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