ANCHORAGE — Alaska State Troopers say a 4-year-old Noorvik boy was found alone after his father and grandmother died in apparent drownings during a berry picking expedition along the Kobuk River.
Troopers say the body of 54-year-old Merna Sheldon was recovered from the river Wednesday evening, one day after the family left Noorvik in a skiff. The body of her 34-year-old son, Albert Sheldon, was recovered Tuesday evening.
The boy, Jim Sheldon, was found alone on the riverbank after a concerned friend traveled down the river when the family had not returned to the village.
The boy told responders the skiff began spinning, and the two adults fell out.
Troopers say the skiff ran aground and the boy waited on the riverbank, but the adults never got out of the river.
