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Search abandoned for plane that sent distress signal near St. Mary's

An SUV with moose antlers on its roof is parked near a connex.
Bay and Walky Johnson plan to target more moose to supplement their diet for the winter in St. Mary's. (Olivia Ebertz/KYUK)

Rescue workers have abandoned their search for the source of an aircraft distress signal along the lower Yukon River in Southwest Alaska.

Two weekends ago, on Aug. 29, Alaska State Troopers were notified of an aircraft emergency locator signal originating 38 miles northwest of the community of St. Mary’s. Over the following week, various response agencies, including the Civil Air Patrol, Alaska Air National Guard, and Alaska Army National Guard, searched the area, by air and by land. 

According to trooper spokesperson Austin McDaniel, the groups stopped their search on Sept. 4 after not finding any source of the beacon signal. Troopers said that no planes were reported overdue in the area.

Anna Rose MacArthur is a reporter at KYUK in Bethel.