Cruise Ship Passenger Is Missing After Going for a Hike in Alaska
Dogs, helicopters and search teams were continuing an exhaustive search effort for the passenger, Dr. Marites Buenafe, 62, the authorities said. She was identified by her employer as a physician at UK HealthCare in Lexington, Ky.
Dr. Buenafe was reported missing at around 3:20 p.m. on Tuesday after she had failed to return to the cruise ship in time for its 1:30 p.m. departure, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in a statement and in a missing persons bulletin.
The morning she went missing Dr. Buenafe told her family in text messages that she was going to ride a tram into the mountains and that she then planned to hike the trail from the Gold Ridge to Gastineau Peak, the agency said. She was last spotted on security footage leaving the buildings at the top stop of the Mount Roberts Tramway at around 7:30 a.m., Alaska State Troopers said in the bulletin.
Several agencies, including the Juneau Mountain Rescue, the Alaska State Troopers, the Alaska National Guard and the Juneau Police Department, have been involved in the effort to find Dr. Buenafe, according to the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
'We remain optimistic that we will find Marites alive,' Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the public safety department, said on Thursday.
The search effort has focused near downtown Juneau, 'in the mountains south of town,' which are not considered a remote area, Mr. McDaniel said.
The trail is a popular hiking attraction, he added, and the public safety department conducts several search and rescues there every year.
Alaska residents and visitors are encouraged to become familiar with the area and to pack well before going out on a trip, including by carrying extra clothing, food, water and a communications device, he said. People venturing into the backcountry are also advised to tell someone where they are going and when they can be expected to return.
Mr. McDaniel cautioned that 'trips into Alaska's backcountry can go from expected easy day trips to very challenging with one wrong step or fall.'
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