Sasquatch Chronicles Blog

The Alaska Triangle began in 1972 when a small, private craft carrying U.S. House Majority Leader Hale Boggs seemingly vanished into thin air somewhere between Juneau and Anchorage. What followed was one of the nation’s largest-ever search-and-rescue missions. For more than a month, 50 civilian planes and 40 military craft scoured a search grid of 32,000 square miles (an area larger than the state of Maine). They never found a trace of Boggs, his crew, or his aircraft.

The borders of the Alaska Triangle connect Anchorage and Juneau in the south to Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) along the state’s north coast. Like much of Alaska, the triangle contains some of the most rugged, unforgiving wilderness in North America. It’s an impossibly vast expanse of dense boreal forests, craggy mountain peaks, alpine lakes, and large swaths of plain old wilderness. Amid this dramatic backdrop, it’s hardly surprising that people go missing. What is surprising, however, is the sheer number of people who go missing. Add to that the fact that many disappear without a shred of evidence, and bodies (alive or dead) are rarely found.

By the numbers, it seems something more interesting might be at play. More than 16,000 people, including airplane passengers and hikers, locals, and tourists have disappeared within the Alaska Triangle since 1988. The rate per 1,000 people is more than twice the national missing persons average, and the rate of people who are never found is even higher. The numbers do imply that something else is going on here other than merely “getting lost in the mountains.”

For almost as long as there have been planes flying over the Atlantic Ocean, theories have abounded about the nature of the Bermuda Triangle. Lovers of lore and mystery novels have postulated everything from unusually heavy air and bizarre weather patterns to alien involvement and energy lasers from the lost city of Atlantis. Many have speculated similar reasons for the disappearances within the Alaska Triangle. And those speculations are only increasing now that we are beginning to understand the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle.

However, the most likely scientific explanation is simple geography. The state’s massive glaciers are rife with giant holes, hidden caves, and building-sized crevasses. All these provide the perfect burying grounds for downed aircraft and wayward souls. Once an aircraft crash-lands or a hiker becomes stranded, the fast-moving, year-round snow squalls can easily bury any trace of a person or airplane. Once that plane or person is buried by fresh snow, the likelihood of finding them is near zero.

U.S. Reps. Hale Boggs and Nick Begich

The disappearance of Boggs, the House Majority Leader majority leader from Louisiana, and Begich, a freshman congressman from Alaska was one of the first cases to spark widespread interest in the Alaska Triangle. The representatives, as well as an aide, were flying on a small plane between Anchorage and Juneau on October 16, 1972, when the plane disappeared. A massive search and rescue effort was launched but was called off after 39 days. Neither the plane nor the men’s bodies were ever found. The disappearance was the subject of a 17-episode investigative podcast.

Thomas Anthony Nuzzi

Nuzzi was a nurse who traveled throughout the state and didn’t have a permanent address—instead he stayed in motels during his assignments. He’d been staying in Anchorage but was working in Bethel, a quick flight away. Nuzzi was reported missing on June 19, 2001, after he didn’t show up for work. Investigators discovered gas station surveillance footage of Nuzzi that was captured the night before he went missing. Nuzzi was in the station purchasing cigarettes and snacks accompanied by a woman. Later, housekeepers at the motel said they encountered a strange man and woman in Nuzzi’s room. Nuzzi’s bicycle was found at his nearby storage unit. His jeep was found 12 miles outside of Anchorage. Nuzzi, the woman or the other man were never found.

Forty-four people on board a U.S. Air Force plane

In 1950, a Douglas C-54 Skymaster left Anchorage bound for Minnesota with 44 people on board—eight crew members, three engineers, 34 service members, and two civilians. The plane was expected to make regular radio contact as it traveled, but all communication stopped shortly after take off, and the plane never arrived in Minnesota. More than 75 U.S. and Canadian aircraft participated in the search for the missing plane, but the aircraft and its passengers were never seen again.

Frank Minano

Frank Minano, 69, was reported missing from Nenana on August 17, 2020. Nanana, located about 60 miles west of Fairbanks, is in the heart of the Alaska Triangle. His family told authorities that they believe he became lost in the woods, but reporting from NBC 11 in Fairbanks described Minano as “a traditional educator and mentor on culture, hunting, subsistence living, and respecting the land.” Authorities believe Minano took shelter in a nearby cabin the first night he was missing, but after more than a year, there is still no sign of Minano.

Shanna Oman

Shanna Oman was visiting a friend in Fairbanks on June 3, 2019. Police were called six days later when Oman’s roommate said she had never returned home. Her destination was Eagle River, but her cell phone last pinged a tower on June 4. A police dog and helicopter were used to search for the woman, but she was never found.

Leonard Lane

The 73-year-old WWII veteran was enjoying the 4th of July parade in Fairbanks in 1995 when he vanished. He was noted to walk with a pronounced limp due to his war injuries. Police had no leads and no information on what may have happened to the man. Though he was declared legally dead in 1997, the case remains unsolved.

Jael Tiara Hamblen

The 20-year-old mom went out to dinner with her roommate on the night of October 11, 2014. The women returned home, but Jael decided to go out again on her own. The next morning, her roommate found Jael’s bed unmade and her car still in the driveway. Her purse was found buried in the snow five months later. Jael hasn’t been since the night she disappeared.