At 7:55pm on Thursday, when his brother, Rex Iyatunguk, and his family did not arrive as scheduled from Nome, where they had left at 2 pm, Preston Dixon of Teller contacted the troopers in Nome to report them overdue.

During that time, a passing motorist encountered Rex, Denise Topkok and their two children at mile 51 stuck in a snowdrift.

The motorist attempted to free the family in the vehicle from the snowbank, but was unsuccessful. So, the motorist reported their position to authorities.

As a result, two VPSOs from Brevig Mission responded to the location and helped the stranded family to get free of the snowdrift. The family of four continued their wintery trek to Teller.

But, the hours went by and the family still had notarrived from Nome. At 2am, family members reported that the four had not gotten to Teller.

Nome Search and Rescue as well as Nome’s Department of Transportation launched searchers to search for the missing family. SAR would locate the family at mile 25. After traveling an additional 26 miles after being stuck in the snowbank, the family could not make it up a hill due to the icy condition of the road.

Nome Search and Rescue transported the family back to Nome.