Dozens gathered at Mayor Bill Overstreet Park on Wednesday evening despite plunging temperatures and driving rain as a thanks for searchers for missing man Doug Farnsworth.
His sister, Kiersten Farnsworth, who helped organize the event, thanked all of Juneau for their efforts in searching for the missing man.
“It’s not supposed to be a funeral. There is no closure right now. We don’t know what happened,” said Kiersten Farnsworth in a phone interview. “I don’t want the case to die down.”
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Farnsworth was reported missing by his family on Sept. 29, 2021. The Juneau Police Department initiated a missing persons investigation and found video of Farnsworth driving to Flume Trail trailhead. The last sign of him was at about 7 a.m. that morning. “He parked the truck at 4 a.m. and we got footage of him at 6:52 a.m. on a deer cam,” Kiersten Farnsworth said. “What we’re really trying to do is find video footage from the houses behind (Juneau-Douglas High School: Yadaa.at Kalé) and the Breakwater (Inn).”
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire Friends and family put together a display during a vigil for Douglas Farnsworth, missing since late September, at Mayor Bill Overstreet Park on Oct. 27, 2021.
Speakers both at the vigil and from far away spoke of Farnsworth and his social nature on Wednesday evening. More than 50 also livestreamed into the event, Kiersten Farnsworth said.
“We’re encouraging people to keep looking,” Kiersten Farnsworth said. “In the process of looking for Doug, maybe we can help find some of the other missing people.”
As they’ve been searching for Farnsworth, Kiersten Farnsworth said, it’s also highlighted for her the nature of the resources available to families and friends of missing persons. The same issue surfaced early this year, when the family of missing elder Geraldine Nelson pointed out the anemic Silver Alert response, an opt-in system in Alaska, that Nelson’s family members said might have helped.
“Time is valuable,” Kiersten Farnsworth said. “You need everybody to know pretty much right away.”
Farnsworth said that cadaver dogs had no luck finding Farnsworth in the areas he was last seen. Farnsworth is roughly 5 feet 11 inches tall, weighing approximately 160 pounds and has dark brown hair and a number of tattoos, Kiersten Farnsworth said.
• Contact reporter Michael S. Lockett at (757) 621-1197 or mlockett@juneauempire.com.
Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire Searchers and members of the community gather at a vigil for Douglas Farnsworth, missing since late September, at Mayor Bill Overstreet Park on Oct. 27, 2021.
