The search for a woman in Alaska who disappeared under ice in a river while attempting to save a dog continued Monday.
A man and a woman had reportedly been walking along the North Fork Eagle River trail on Dec. 23 with their dogs when one of the dogs went into an area of open water. Both the male and female entered the water in an attempt to search for the dog, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Public Safety and State Troopers (DPS).
“The adult female and the adult male entered the water and began searching for the dog,” Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the Alaska DPS, said on Sunday, according to the Anchorage Daily News. “At some point, the adult female went under the water and did not resurface.”
Officials from the Alaska DPS were contacted by the Anchorage Police Department around 2:15 p.m. on Saturday regarding an active search and rescue mission for the couple, according to the statement from DPS.
A search of the surrounding area by officials from the Anchorage Police and Fire Departments concluded with no signs of the female. State Troopers reportedly initiated help from the Alaska Dive Search, Rescue, and Recovery Team.
Search efforts concluded due to sunset on Saturday and resumed on Sunday and Monday during daylight hours. The female was not found on Sunday and search efforts for the missing woman were reported to resume during daylight hours on Tuesday, according to the DPS.
“It’s believed that she was swept underneath the ice downriver,” McDaniel said, adding that a large portion of the river where the woman disappeared was frozen.
McDaniel added that a search mission by the Alaska dive and search team and the state troopers would be focused around areas “of interest underneath the ice” and that ice would be cut to allow for sonar and remote-operated vehicles to be lowered beneath the surface.
