Multiple agencies assist in ongoing search for woman who fell in ice over the weekend

On Saturday, search teams from Alaska State Troopers, the Anchorage Fire Department, and AK Dive Search Rescue & Recovery Team conducted a ground and aerial search after a woman was reported missing in Eagle River, having gone under the ice near the North Fork Eagle Trailhead, according to Alaska State Troopers

According to reports, a man and a woman were walking on the North Fork Eagle River Trail Saturday when one of their dogs went into the water. While both went into the river to retrieve the dog, the woman went under the ice. The man was uninjured.

The Anchorage Fire Department received a report of the woman falling into the Eagle River in the North Fork and dispatched units to search for her, until AST later took over the search following the one-hour submersion protocol.

Efforts continued throughout the weekend as a helicopter was deployed Saturday afternoon in Eagle River while AST conducted a ground search for the woman near the trail. A team from the AK Dive Search Rescue & Recovery Team was also called in to help with the search in the river, but efforts were postponed before it became too dark.

“We went out and assessed the site, due to the risk to the team, working in the dark on thin ice over moving water. We decided to start the recovery mission when we have adequate daylight,” the team wrote on social media, noting that the search will begin again sometime after Christmas Day.

“If you’re going to be on any frozen lakes, rivers, other type of waterways, make sure you know the depth of the ice,” advised Austin McDaniel, Communications Director for the AST, urging people to be cautious of thin ice when using snow machines, ice skating, ice fishing and crossing bodies of water on foot.

Due to areas of thin ice and open water, the teams are operating their search and rescue operations when it’s safest for operations, and plan to resume on Tuesday.

This is a developing story