Alaska Department Of Public Safety,State Troopers Public Information Office

Dispatch Text:

UPDATE: On July 19, 2024, at 8:45am, Northwest Arctic Borrough SAR boat crews located the body of Brandon Sheldon in the Kobuk River, upstream of Noorvik. The State Medical Examiner’s Office has been notified. Next of kin has been notified.

On July 15, 2024, at 8:05pm, Alaska State Troopers were notified of a capsized boat in the river north of Noorvik with five persons on board. Four persons were safe and were able to contact the local villages by handheld VHF radio, however, one person was unaccounted for. The villages of Noorvik and Kiana each launched several boats to assist in the search. The missing boater is identified as Brandon Sheldon, age 30 of Kiana. Searchers from Noorvik, Kiana, Kotzebue, Northwest Arctic Borough, VPSOs, AST and AWT are involved is search efforts. Alaska Wildlife Troopers are conducting additional searches by air. Search efforts are ongoing.