BARROW — A raft carrying at least 10 people capsized during a guided trip on Alaska’s remote North Slope, leaving two Nevada women dead.
The North Slope Borough said in a statement the victims were 69-year-old Cheryl Minnehan and 67-year-old Karen Todd. Hometowns and more information, including whether this was a tourists outing, were not immediately available.
The borough’s Department of Search and Rescue received a report Wednesday of two people missing after a boat capsized on the Kongakut River, about 75 miles south of Kaktovik.
Kaktovik is a small community on the Beaufort Sea, off Alaska’s northern coast, about 625 miles north of Anchorage.
The borough and the Alaska Air National Guard safely recovered eight other people and took them to the community of Deadhorse. The guard found the bodies of the missing rafters Thursday.
The North Slope Police Department is investigating the deaths.
