Overview

• Marites Buenafe, a 62-year-old University of Kentucky physician, vanished on July 1 after texting family about a solo hike from the Mount Roberts Tramway toward Gold Ridge and Gastineau Peak.
• Alaska State Troopers led a multi-agency search over two days involving Juneau Mountain Rescue, SEADOGS, K-9 teams, drones and National Guard helicopters despite rainy weather and limited visibility.
• An Alaska Army National Guard crew located Buenafe’s body at 11:56 a.m. on July 3, approximately 1,700 feet below the Gold Ridge ridgeline.
• Troopers, Juneau Mountain Rescue and Temsco Helicopters collaborated to recover her remains and have notified her next of kin.
• Officials have sent Buenafe’s body to the state medical examiner for autopsy and advise solo hikers to share their plans and carry emergency communication devices.