By THE ALASKA STORY
April 15, 2026 – The US Coast Guard rescued three adults and one child Sunday after their small vessel became trapped on shifting ice about 10 miles west of Chefornak during a subsistence seal hunting trip.
According to officials, watchstanders at the Coast Guard Arctic District command center were alerted at 4:24 pm Saturday by the Alaska State Troopers that the group had been stranded on an ice floe for more than 24 hours and needed assistance.
The four had managed to free their 18-foot vessel from the ice overnight and attempted to reach a shore party from the village traveling by snow machine. But constantly moving ice prevented them from making it back to land. Chefornak is located near the south bank of the Kinia River where it empties into the Bering Sea.
In response, the Coast Guard launched both an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew from Air Station Kodiak. The helicopter arrived on scene around 5 am Sunday after refueling stops in King Salmon and Bethel.
All four individuals were safely hoisted from the vessel and transported back to Chefornak. No injuries were reported.
Lt. Cmdr. Alexis Chavarria-Aguilar, the helicopter’s pilot-in-command, described the operation as one of the most difficult missions of her career.
“Our entire crew agreed this was one of the most challenging missions any of us had ever flown,” she said. “We battled nearly every Alaska-centric aviation weather hazard imaginable, such as flying over 800 miles in near-zero visibility through mountainous terrain, blowing snow and icing conditions.”
Despite the conditions, she said, coordination between crews was seamless. “It was a long, difficult night, but I’m so proud of everyone involved who worked seamlessly together to bring four people home safely.”
Officials noted the stranded group had three forms of communication on board, which significantly improved the Coast Guard’s ability to locate them.
Weather at the time of the rescue included 28-degree temperatures, 29 mph winds, an 800-foot cloud ceiling, and roughly nine miles of visibility, conditions that can quickly become dangerous in Western Alaska’s coastal environment.
Watch Coast Guard video of the rescue here:
