Alaska State Troopers report that a Quinhagak man, who walked away from his residence at 7:30 am on Wednesday without adequate clothing, was located and rescued at 10:30 pm on that same day.

As searchers combed the area around the small community in southwest Alaska at 10 pm, they observed a flare fired from the beach approximately eight miles away from the village.

The trooper dispatch reported on Thursday that 21-year-old Michael Matthew “was suicidal, wet, and walked away from his residence with no warm weather gear” during the early morning hours of Wednesday.

When located, Matthew was on the opposite side of the river from the village. Searchers were “able to navigate the open water” and retrieved Matthew. He was transported in hypothermic condition to the local clinic for  evaluation.

  Alaska, beach, flare, hypothermia, michael matthew, quinhagak, river, search and rescue