Update, 9:45 a.m. Saturday:
A Tennessee couple missing for nearly a week were found safe Friday night near the Chena Hot Springs Resort, according to Alaska State Troopers.
Troopers say two hikers encountered Jonas Bare at about 5:30 p.m. Friday about 200 yards from the resort. Bare led Alaska Wildlife Troopers to an area about 3 miles away where he said he had left Cynthia Hovesepian to get help, and she was found after searchers called out for her.
Troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel said Bare and Hovesepian had gotten lost on a hike near the resort. They spent their first few days seeking help, then made a camp with a simple backpack of food and supplies. After a few more days, Hovesepian stayed at the camp due to health issues while Bare went to find help.
Everyone involved in the search effort returned to the resort by 8:40 p.m. Friday, troopers said, with medics evaluating Bare and Hovesepian there. Both were uninjured, McDaniel said.
Original story:
Alaska State Troopers are looking for two tourists from Tennessee who missed their return flight home last week and haven’t contacted family members.
According to an online dispatch, 50-year-old Jonas Bare and 37-year-old Cynthia Hovesepian were reported missing Saturday. Fairbanks police checked the downtown room where the couple was staying and found their luggage. On Sunday, troopers found the couple’s rented blue Jeep Compass at Chena Hot Springs Resort.
“Alaska State Troopers and Alaska Wildlife Troopers have been out at Chena Hot Springs Resort since Sunday, daily, working with both professional search and rescue teams as well as canine tracking teams in search of this missing couple,” said troopers spokesman Austin McDaniel.
McDaniel said the search is ongoing, and that investigators would appreciate any help from members of the public who might know something about the case.
“If anyone has firsthand knowledge of the location of these two individuals that they haven’t already reported to law enforcement, they can certainly call either the Fairbanks Police Department of Alaska State Troopers at 907-451-5100,” he said.
Tips can also be reported anonymously on troopers’ website, as well as through the AKtips smartphone app.
Tim Ellis is a reporter at KUAC in Fairbanks.
