A 14-year-old Tuntutuliak girl was discovered deceased after she went missing from a boat near the mouth of the Kialik River on Saturday, troopers reported on Tuesday.

According to the trooper dispatch, a family of five was traveling to Tuntutuliak from Bethel on Saturday evening. The boat, with three adults, an infant and 14-year-old Ann Frank, grounded fast on a sandbar near the mouth of the river and could not be freed.

The boaters say that they spent the night in the boat after grounding, and when they awoke in the morning, Ann was no longer in the vessel.

After the incident was reported, searchers from Tuntutuliak began a ground search of the area while AWT and AST took to the air in an attempt to locate the young girl. The search continued through the evening on Sunday and throughout Monday.

At 3:50 pm on Monday, the Search and Rescue team from Tuntutuliak located A. Frank deceased on the river bank across from the village.

Alaska Wildlife Troopers landed a float plane at the discovery site and Frank’s remains were transported to Bethel where they were further transported to Anchorage for autopsy. The State Medical Examiner’s office there ruled the young girl’s death as an accidental drowning.

Frank’s family were notified of the ruling.

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  ann frank, bethel, boat, missing, sandbar, search, tuntutuliak