It hides a dark secret: it's home to more than 16,000 disappearances within the Alaska Triangle. Youre using hands and feet. He was officially declared dead in August 2012 after a presumptive death hearing. MaryAnne LeMaitre: My dadhe has always had an adventurous spirit: He did the Iditaski several times; he had a lot of exciting adventures on the water. from. 65-year-old Michael LeMaitre was competing in the Mount Marathon race in Seward, Alaska, which is south of the city of Anchorage. One of the organisers of the race, Karol Fink, said that in the months before the big day, there had been unusual amounts of snow We had a little more snow than usual. New rules were instituted, including one that says runners now must sign a pledge saying theyve completed the roughly 3-mile race course at least once prior to race day. In other words, it seems safe to conclude that genuinely anomalous phenomena were indeed witnessed by experienced military personnel at Kodiak, Alaska in January 1950. The first officer stated that it would be impossible to give minute details concerning the object, but that it appeared to be approximately two or three feet in diameter and did not leave any vapor trail in the sky., Being the experienced officer that he was, in his first attempt to gauge the altitude of the object, and, from a comparison with cloud formations in the area, he determined that whatever the nature of the mystery sphere, it was cruising at a height of more than ten thousand feet. Whats more, this tale came out as recently as 1992, which means its got to be true. It was traveling in the direction from Bethel to Nome, which is in a northwesterly direction. It rained the night before the 2012 race and the trail was slick and muddy. wildlife, paddle and fish vibrant waters, and to explore our historic community. Since warm, unstable air is the fuel that feeds a thunderstorm, talking about the warmth in Alaska helps us understand how common severe thunderstorms are there. Theriault Boots: I think its the same intrigue that makes people going missing in Alaska so fascinating for some people, because its just the vastness of the wilderness. 15,575 likes. I think that vastness and the proximity of that vastness to town and to thousands of people and spectators, that you could be gone without a trace while there are hundreds of runners and thousands of spectators, like a mile less than a mile away from you, is just a reminder for Alaskans of that very thin line we live in between our little patches of town and kind of infinite wilderness and the dangers of that. The trailing edge of the blip gave a tail-like indication.. Matthew Kenney and Penny Assman both fell over the same section of trail, known as the waterfall.. No sign of LeMaitre has been found. There is not an active search for him currently, McDaniel said. Ketchikan - This southeast town holds some pretty wild tales of the past. Fairbanks dropped to 50 below zero for the first time in five years Wednesday, Anchorage climatologist Brian Brettschnider said, triggering spooky ice fog across the city. Hours later, search and rescue teams were called onto the mountain at around 8 pm by his wife Peggy with temperatures falling and rain worsening. There hasnt been any wish to change things unless its a safety concern. There was also a young boy that reported a similar sighting nearby in 1960 and reacted to the encounter by screaming and running off as fast as possible. My dad was in last place. If not balloons the objects must be regarded as phenomena (possibly meteorites), the exact nature of which could not be determined by this office., The meteorite theory for this series of encounters is particularly puzzling. LeMaitre was declared legally dead in October 2012 after a court proceeding known as a presumed death trial. An assessment of these reports read thus: 1. The missing woman was found. Missing kayakers at Beaver Lake Toggle header content. LeMaitre: Any time that Ive experienced anything like thisfriends who have gotten into car accidents and died, losing my grandmother to illnessthere was closure for that. Four minutes later the object disappeared from view in a southeasterly direction.. Its dangerous, so youre not only competing against other people on the mountain, but youre competing to get across the finish line healthy and safe. In the two-page press release Wednesday, the chamber said the settlement freed it from any responsibility for Michael's disappearance. He left the ADN in 2015. They have no race director to make a decision to call off a race due to unsafe conditions. That evening, Moulton Howe broadcast a pre-recorded interview with Doug Mutschler, a retired U.S. Army Counterintelligence Warrant Officer, who provided many of the initial facts about the pyramid, and first alleged the sites current connection with the U.S. military. It was rainy, it was foggy, and he just never came down the mountain. Junior Race Course Racers leave the start line at 4th Avenue and Adams Street, run one block on 4th, take a left on Jefferson Street and follow the road to the base of the mountain. Mount Marathon, a mountain in the state, is one of the most difficult and steep hikes. But one chapter in the story is now closing. Signs posted on the lower mountain, site of the most dangerous cliffs, point out alternate descent routes and rate their difficulty. Chamber officials -- apparently suspicious that the whole disappearance had been staged -- demanded all of Peggy's financial information in pre-trial filings in an apparent search for a money trail that might lead to a still living husband. Though the above are all good places to start a story about risk and passion, the best time to start is on Independence Day, 1969, when a 22-year-old Patricia Schultz is passing Adams on 4th Street, only a block away from finishing the one and only race she would ever run. A vast desert of isolation and beauty. "The Chamber has fought viciously and denies they have any responsibility to any racer,'' Peggy's statement said. According to Douglas A Mutschler, geologists had used the detonation to undertake a seismographic study of the earths crust, only to find a pyramid structure larger than Cheops underground, somewhere west of Mt. The following transcript was lightly edited for clarity. But the race has gotten safer. Runners in the July Fourth race must make it halfway up the mountain in an hour or they will have to turn around, losing a chance to summit the 3,022-foot peak in . The missing person left the Friday , March 17 2023 In 2014, Michaels family settled a lawsuit with the Seward Chamber of Commerce. He had already navigated the most dangerous parts of the course. Her husband of 43 years, Michael LeMaitre, was last seen on July 4, about 200 feet from the top of Mount Marathon in Seward, south of Anchorage. . We have a safety meeting ahead of time that you have to attend. Casey Grove, Alaska Public Media - Anchorage, the Anchorages Daily News Curious Alaska column, Bronson wont consider former Alaska Club building for Anchorage homeless shelter. per adult (price varies by group size) Entrance Ticket Nausicaa, the biggest aquarium in Europe. [Sign up for Alaska Public Medias daily newsletter to get our top stories delivered to your inbox.]. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. He was definitely physically fit. Photos No reviews RECOMMENDATIONS TOP LISTS By the end of the day, two were in the hospital with serious injuries and one had vanished. No trail, an Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman said at the time. 2021-03-26 15:42:13 Mount Marathon, or officially Marathon Mountain, is a 4,826-foot (1,471 m) mountain summit directly west of Seward in the Kenai Mountains in the U.S. state of Alaska. Going off in the wrong direction, falling off, landslides, bear activitythere are so many things that could have happened and just nothing to go on. And as the report concluded: the second officer pointed out that one of the remarkable features of this report was that it was definitely traveling against the wind., Shortly afterward, the FBI Office at Anchorage reported to Bureau Director J. Edgar Hoover that: we have been able to locate a flyer [who] observed some flying object near Bethel, Alaska in July 1947. The report to Hoover continued: [The pilot] related that the occasion of seeing the flying object near Bethel was on a July day when the sky was completely clear of clouds, and it being during the early part, it is daylight the entire night. The document added: He called on his radio to the Civil Aeronautics Administration station at Bethel, asking what aircraft was in the vicinity and they had no reports of any aircraft. The 13th annual Run Bentonville Half Marathon is back. The slope averages 34 degrees, with a vertical gain of 2,675 feet. The search area covered over 32,000 square miles which are about the size of South Carolina. At some point between 0200 and 0300 hours, Morgan reported that a very fast-moving red light, which appeared to be of exhaust nature seemed to come from the southeast, moved clockwise in a large circle in the direction of, and around Kodiak and returned out in a generally southeast direction., Perhaps not quite believing what he was seeing, Morgan alerted one of his shipmates, Carver, to the strange spectacle, and both watched as the UFO made a return flight. According to the testimony of Morgan and Carver: The object was in sight for an estimated 30 seconds. Disappearance on Mount Marathon On July 4, 2012, runners gathered in Seward, Alaska, for a three-mile trail race up the mountain that looms 3,000 feet over Resurrection Bay. Could this have anything to do with the disappearances? The average age is 41. The 66-year-old businessman and grandfather was last seen about three hours into the race, climbing just shy of the races turnaround point at an elevation of about 3,000 feet. Lace-up your running shoes for an annual event taking the city of Bentonville by storm. No evidence of the plane was ever found and the men were declared dead. Its a thrill for both runners and spectators! Racers are also kept off the cliffs where Kenney almost died. All rights reserved. The race is short, only three miles long. In July 2013, LeMaitres widow sued the Seward Chamber of Commerce, who organizes the race, for $5 million and eventually settled in October 2014 for $20,000. I'm not missing a thing. MOUNT MARATHON Welcome to a breathtaking land shaped by glaciers, nestled between mountains and the ocean. They did have pit stops, but by the time he got to the top, it was all packed up. Its not uncommon for racers to be injured, running to the top of 3,022-foot Mount Marathon and back down again. I would say you should run this a dozen times before youre ready to compete in it. If you would be willing to assist in the search for Michael LeMaitre, please contact the Seward Volunteer Fire Department via their webpage. Frame Material: Plastic; Batteries Required: Yes; Overall: 11.1'' W x 6.61'' H; Good quality. The mountain is so close to townyou can hear the announcer all the way up. But I think theres a lot of people who still very much want to know what happened to Michael LeMaitre. Runners from around the world join Alaskans in pursuit of a common goal: to safely complete this . 2. 2023 Anchorage Daily News. . Become a Member. People were out searching, helicopter going constantly. Mount Sequoyah Center celebrates 100 years . The summit of Mount Marathon rises 3,022 feet above Seward and the race follows a unique "open course" format, which allows participants to choose their own route up and down the mountain. We walked part way up and got a real feel for what race day must be like. Lingit Aani Kaa Kei Nas.ax Haa Yoo Xatangi, the Anchorage Daily News Curious Alaska column, https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/8-Michelle-Theriault-int.mp3. All 2012 racers were told, "If you haven't been up the mountain, you have no business participating in this event,'' the release noted. You know, a lot of people kept saying, you need some sort of closure. Officials took a photo of Michael at the halfway point and he was smiling and seemed happy to continue. But probably the best known missing person case in wild Alaska involves 66-year-old Michael LeMaitre of Anchorage who went up Mount Marathon on July 4, 2012 and never came down. This mountain is famous in Alaska because every 4th of July, since 1915, there has been a race up the mountain. Searchers worried that if he wasnt already injured, he probably had hypothermia because of his light clothing, exhaustion and the freezing weather. Theyre not running, theyre free-falling. Delta variant wasnt detected in Alaska until a few weeks ago. At 0243W, 8 minutes later a radar contact was made on an object 10 miles southeast of NAS Kodiak. The three unidentified flying objects followed the airliner for approximately 400 miles through the Alaska Triangle. Law enforcement has to place eyes on him, alive and well, McDaniel said. Reach him at cgrove@alaskapublic.org. An accomplished endurance athlete who competed in ultramarathons and listed summiting several of the world's tallest mountains among his feats was found dead this week in Yosemite National Park in. The Mount Marathon Race in Seward took place Wednesday, after a year off due to the pandemic, without reports of any major trouble. In 2007, Alaska state troopers added 2,833 missing person notices to their Missing Persons Clearinghouse that maintains all related information [source: Alaska Governor's Office]. "He was presumed dead through a court action initiated by his wife, Peggy LeMaitre, on July 17, 2012, two weeks after his disappearance,'' the statement said. I wanted to go up and see what decisions my dad would have made. LeMaitre: I just dont know if theres a chance of finding him. After the settlement was. An extreme sport before anyone ever uttered the phase "extreme sport,". But he hadnt been on the mountain before. And that question has not been answered. Vanished: Heidi Broussard (33) and Margot Carey (2wks). Aurora borealis (northern lights) can be seen an average of 243 days a year in Fairbanks. It was rainy, but it didnt sound like it was raining all the time. He literally vanished off the mountain. Port Chatham - Also known as Portlock, this eerie small village on the Kenai Peninsula was home to so many Bigfoot sightings that the entire population eventually fled due to an overwhelming amount of fear. When you get to the top, theres a grassy area with a big rock in the middle that you go around. Mutschler then called relatives to track down copies of the story that had run on other stations, but apparently, none had: the discovery only appeared on Anchorages Channel 13. The mens and womens courses are a grueling 1.5-mile climb up, and back down, Alaskas majestic and treacherous Mount Marathon. For ten minutes, Barco and Causer, along with the pilot, Captain Paulson, watched stunned as the mysterious object twisted and turned in the Alaskan sky. With huge amounts of forests and uncharted wilderness, Alaska is certainly a perfect location for Bigfoot (also known as Sasquatch) to hide out. The next morning, July 5, the 210th Rescue Squadron of the Alaska Air National Guard, which specializes in searching for crashed pilots and missing hikers, arrived with its HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter for another infrared scan. Fink: After youve summited and rounded the rock, you drop into the snow, and you either sit on your feet or slide down on your butt. There were two separate reports of UFO activity in the area and at the time of the disappearance. While he was still heading up the mountain, the officials at checkpoints along the way were packing up. . Race organizers instituted a number of new safety measures in 2013, including mandatory signed statements from runners that theyve completed training runs on the course, a one-hour time limit for racers to reach the summit, and sweeps of the mountain by volunteers after each wave of the race. Fort Valley State University student Missing Where is Anitra Gunn? Approximate race distance is 3.1 miles, with an elevation gain of almost 3,000 feet. MaryAnne walked the mountain for weeks, looking for her dad. However, neither Lieutenant Smith nor his crew was quite prepared for what happened next. As of August 2019, no trace of Michael has been found. Many people believe that they can tap into their higher selves when at these vortexes. It was especially rainy, foggy and slick that day. It was in August 1947 that a highly impressive account of a UFO incident involving two serving members of the military was supplied to the FBI at Anchorage. A jogger vanishes from the top of Mt. O U R R A C E P A R T N E R S. Join the community of Seward for the running of the Mount Marathon Race on July 4. This harsh landscape is full of all manner of perils, including unforgiving weather, hazardous terrain, dangerous wild animals, and harrowing geological dangers, with Alaska being the home of around 100 active volcanoes. There was an extensive search, his bereaved family also continued to search. Usually by the time of race day, the water hasnt dried up, so you have to know what youre doing because its very steep and you can fall off. My phone number -. Starting in downtown Seward, racers run a half-mile to the bottom of Mount Marathon, then scrabble about 2,900 vertical feet straight up cliffs and mud and shale before getting to Race Point, an artificial summit point. Then you drop into a creek bed. Word went out as the event was coming to a close that a runner had gone missing somewhere along the trial. Despite exhaustive searches, his body has never been found. Later, as the object increased the range, the pulsations appeared to increase to on 7 or 8 seconds and off 7 to 8 seconds., The final comment on the encounters reads: In view of the fact that no weather balloons were known to have been released within a reasonable time before the sightings, it appears that the object or objects were not balloons. Ominously, he added that the aliens use thought transfer for motor control of us. Price added: The site has also been responsible for strange activity and malfunction of U.S. and Soviet space objects.. 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