An Anchorage man has been detained in Eastern Russia after sailing across the Bering Strait in a small, rubber boat.
According to the BBC, 46-year-old John Martin had been traveling down the Yukon River in his one-seater. After reaching the Bering Sea, Martin traveled at least 50 miles across the Bering Strait.
Martin was picked up by Russian border guards on Aug. 1.
A source told Russia’s largest news outlet, TASS, that Martin was brought to the port town of Anadyr for questioning. Martin allegedly did not ask for political asylum, as previously reported.
U.S. diplomats are aware of the situation and, as the BBC reports, are working with Russian officials to resolve the situation.
Emily Russell is the voice of Alaska morning news as Alaska Public Media’s Morning News Host and Producer.
Originally from the Adirondacks in upstate New York, Emily moved to Alaska in 2012. She skied her way through three winters in Fairbanks, earning her Master’s degree in Northern Studies from UAF.
Emily’s career in radio started in Nome in 2015, reporting for KNOM on everything from subsistence whale harvests to housing shortages in Native villages. She then worked for KCAW in Sitka, finally seeing what all the fuss with Southeast, Alaska was all about.
Back on the road system, Emily is looking forward to driving her Subaru around the region to hike, hunt, fish and pick as many berries as possible. When she’s not talking into the mic in the morning, Emily can be found reporting from the peaks above Anchorage to the rivers around Southcentral.
