Troopers locate Anchorage man missing overnight in Nancy Lake area

A 67-year-old Anchorage man was found safe Monday after getting lost on a hike and spending the night at a makeshift camp in the Nancy Lake State Recreation Area near Willow, according to Alaska State Troopers.

According to an online dispatch, troopers and members of the Mat-Su Search and Rescue group responded to a call about an overdue hiker around 8:30 p.m. Sunday evening. According to the dispatch, Shang O. Yi had gone hiking in the Nancy Lake recreation area and had gotten lost after sunset. The search was suspended at 5 a.m. Monday, according to troopers, and resumed after sunrise.

In a Monday afternoon dispatch update, troopers said they were able to reach Yi by cell phone around 9 a.m. Yi told troopers that he had found a camp and was safe.

“Troopers, Park Rangers and members of Mat-SAR were able to pinpoint his location and after multiple attempts, reach his location by foot,” according to the dispatch. By 2:45 p.m., rescue personnel had escorted Yi back to his vehicle at the Red Shirt Lake trailhead.

“Yi was able to leave on his own accord without any reported injuries,” according to troopers.

“He had found a camp of sorts and was able to hunker down under what sounds like was a tarp,” trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters wrote in an email. “He was wet but showed no signs of weather related injuries or any other injuries for that matter.”