Search continues for missing musher

DENALI HIGHWAY — The search continues for a Talkeetna-area musher missing since Memorial Day.

As of press time, searchers were still looking for Melanie Gould on the ground and from the air.

Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman Megan Peters said communication has been spotty because there isn’t cellular telephone service there.

“We are out searching today,” Peters said in an email Monday afternoon. “We have an R-44 (helicopter) flying and two fixed-wings.”

Gould’s disappearance has rallied her friends and relatives as well as sympathetic strangers. They’ve been posting to a Facebook page set up to gather information about the search. Fliers have been posted from Girdwood to Cantwell to Tok.

Gould clocked out from her job at the Talkeetna Roadhouse May 30. An Iditarod veteran who friends say loved her dog team, she left her dogs behind, including a dog named Jane who friends describe as a house pet. Friends and neighbors are caring for the animals in Gould’s absence. That the dogs weren’t taken care of is the main detail that seems to have everyone concerned.

Troopers report that although Gould’s friends reported last seeing her on Memorial Day, troopers have confirmed that she was seen early the next day in Talkeetna. Other than that, troopers have not been able to confirm any sightings, Peters said.

A trooper based in Fairbanks overflew the Denali Highway on Friday, turning back due to high winds. The next day that same trooper returned in a helicopter and found Gould’s pickup on an old trail off the highway 18 miles from Cantwell.

Troopers say they found no signs of foul play. The helicopter continued to fly over the area. The pilot and a spotter also searched by foot. And two dog teams were called out on Sunday.

Peters pegged the size of Monday’s search effort at 20 people and half a dozen dogs, as well as the three aircraft.

Amanda Olson is one of Gould’s friends who is corralling the search reports and fielding phone calls, emails and text messages. She said she spoke with troopers Monday morning.

“They’re just going to keep at this. Tonight they’re going to come back together and see what their next move is going to be,” Olson said. “It’s just kind of a waiting game right now.

She said the calls continue at a brisk pace.

“I’m just listening to everybody wanting to be heard and trying to give them the best answers we can,” Olson said.

Friends also created a Facebook site — tinyurl.com/63cukdq — to help coordinate the effort. More than 2,050 people have linked to the site since it was created June 3 at 10:59 a.m.

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