Musher found safe in Cantwell

CANTWELL — Alaska State Troopers confirmed Saturday that missing Talkeetna-area musher Melanie Gould had been found and was on her way to Palmer.

“I can verify that Melanie Gould contacted troopers in Cantwell and we are now transporting her to Mat-Su Regional Medical Center,” AST spokeswoman Megan Peters said.

Peters had nothing more to say on the topic.

“Hey everyone. I am back from Cantwell,” Amanda Olson, one of two women named Amanda helping coordinate the community’s unofficial search efforts via phone and the Internet wrote on Facebook. “We are so blessed to have her back safe and sound. She is tried and needs her rest now, but otherwise good. I thank you all for everything! I do ask that you all respect her privacy now, though. Her family will be here to help her though this.”

The initial post to that page announcing Gould had been found drew 333 comments and 664 “likes” in four hours. The page itself has 3.289 “likes,” which is a good indication of how far the search effort reached.

Facebook users from across the state — from Tok to Cantwell to Girdwood — and even some from foreign countries wrote in with supportive comments and suggestions. People downloaded fliers from the site and put them up around Alaska.

The search for Gould occupied multiple days and hundreds of hours with searchers on the ground and in the air. More than a dozen rescue dogs turned out and ATV searchers logged hundreds of trail miles.

Gould’s friends put out the alert after she wasn’t seen following her last shift working at the Talkeetna Roadhouse May 31. The musher left her dogs behind with no plan for their care and did not take her cellphone along.

Troopers initially de-clined to search, but eventually two troopers in a helicopter found her pickup on a trail in Denali National Park on June 4. Troopers called off the official search Thursday, saying they had found nothing beyond the truck and that short of better information they couldn’t justify putting searchers at risk.

On Friday, the Facebook page came alive with notices about searchers heading to Cantwell, with solicitations for equipment to borrow. Three hours after a notice asking for some kind of van, the page contained a notice that Gould had been found.

“Everyone — remember it is Melanie’s business whether to tell anyone what happened. She doesn’t have to ever tell any of us anything. Accept that. What matters is that she is back and safe. Be prepared. This is not a television show where you get everything revealed to you at the end. Thank you for everything,” was the latest update as of 5 p.m.

A number of the comments on that update agreed, but a few argued that after the state and volunteer groups invested time and resources searching for multiple days, Gould should at least give a brief explanation.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.