Searchers have concluded that the four climbers presumed dead in an avalanche on Mount McKinley are in a crevasse, and will not attempt to recover their bodies. One climber who was roped to the others survived, and was able to climb out of the crevasse. The four missing climbers include Mr. Yoshiaki Kato, 64; Ms. Masako Suda, 50; Ms. Michiko Suzuki, 56; and Mr. Tamao Suzuki, 63. All are from Miyagi Prefecture, Japan.
The avalanche took place early Wednesday morning on a section of the mountain where climbers had been pinned down by weather for several days. The survivor is identified as Hitoshi Ogi, 69. All were members of the Miyagi Workers Alpine Federation.
APTI Reporter-Producer Ellen Lockyer started her radio career in the late 1980s, after a stint at bush Alaska weekly newspapers, the Copper Valley Views and the Cordova Times. When the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound, Valdez Public Radio station KCHU needed a reporter, and Ellen picked up the microphone.
Since then, she has literally traveled the length of the state, from Attu to Eagle and from Barrow to Juneau, covering Alaska stories on the ground for the AK show, Alaska News Nightly, the Alaska Morning News and for Anchorage public radio station, KSKA
elockyer (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8446 | About Ellen
