Belgian canoer missing on Stikine River

Wrangell emergency responders took part in a search for a missing canoer on the Stikine River earlier this month.

Fire Chief Tim Buness reported a call had been received for assistance at around 5 p.m. on August 3.

"We had a couple of canoers canoing by the Great Glacier," he said, on the Canadian side of the river about 10 miles from the border. The craft had turned over in the fast-moving water at around 3 p.m., spilling two men into the river.

"One of the guys made it up to the beach," said Buness.

The other, Belgian traveler Stéphane Goosse, 25, was not so fortunate. His friend had lost track of him during the spill.

Wrangell Search and Rescue dispatched a float plane with three emergency medical technicians on board. In contact with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police detachment in Telegraph, British Columbia, the aircraft searched for three hours the 10-mile stretch between where Goosse was last seen and the border. On the American side of the river, an Alaska Waters charter boat attempted a search from the border down to Shakes Glacier.

A helicopter dispatched by the United States Coast Guard from Air Station Sitka took over the search from Wrangell's responders, but despite searching into the evening, Goosse remained missing.

Canadian authorities took over the search at that point, but after four further days of looking the effort was suspended on August 7.