JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – Searchers turned their attention underground Monday for a Juneau woman missing for three months.
An expert on Juneau mine shafts led a team under Mount Roberts to look for hiker Sharon Buis, who disappeared May 24.
Brian Weed said he did not want to give people false hope that Buis will be found, the Juneau Empire reported.
“She may not be down there,” Weed said. “But there's at least two (mining shafts) you could have fallen in if you were sliding down snow, and they're covered most of the year. Probably end of August, September, is the best time to check them out when they're uncovered.”
Buis, an experienced outdoorswoman, didn't show up for a scheduled hike with the Juneau Alpine Club, and her car was found at the Mount Roberts trailhead.
Alaska State Troopers, with assistance from Juneau Mountain Rescue, search dogs and handlers with Southeast Alaska Dogs Organized for Ground Search and members of the Alpine Club, searched the mountainside for four days.
Coast Guard helicopters with infrared systems swept the mountainside by night, trying to detect heat sources.
There was no indication Buis fell into a mine shaft, said Megan Peters, spokeswoman for the troopers, by email.
“We do not send volunteers into really dangerous places without acting upon a lead,” she said. “Even with a lead, we still may not send a volunteer into a really dangerous place.”
Weed and his friends planned to search the Lurvey Creek Amphitheater Mine, which includes a 90-foot shaft that connects to a 343-foot long tunnel.
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