A boating accident involving a drowning near Pilot Station was reported to the Alaska State Troopers at approximately 11:30 pm on Monday night.

According to the trooper report, 20-year-old Derek Sipary, 24-year-old Noel Tinker, and 25-year-old Thaddeos Riley, all of Pitka’s Point, had gone out on a moose-hunting trip near Pilot Station. While on their hunting trip, their boat hit a submerged log and the impact threw all three from the boat and into the Yukon River.

Sipary and Tinker made it to the bank of the river, while Riley attempted to swim back to his boat. But, the swift current on the river made it impossible, and Riley went under and did not re-surface.

Search operations were initiated, and Sipary and Tinker were located and transported to Pitka’s Point. They did not suffer any injuries.

The search team continued to search for Riley, and at 12:49 pm on Tuesday afternoon, Riley’s remains were located and they were transported to Pitka’s Point as well.

The investigation revealed that none of the victims were wearing flotation devices at the time of the incident.

Foul play was not suspected in the incident and Riley’s body was released to his next of kin.[xyz-ihs snippet=”Adsense-responsive”]

  accident, Alaska, boating, death, drowning, moose hunting, pilot station, pitkas point, thaddeus riley