Troopers recover body of Wasilla man lost in ATV accident

In an update to the story of Wasilla man Skye Rench, who was riding a side-by-side ATV when it broke through the ice on the Susitna River near the confluence with Fish Creek earlier this year, Alaska State Troopers said May 22 that they have recovered his body.

In an online dispatch, AST was contacted after a private pilot located a deceased person on the Susitna River near the mouth. Shortly after, Troopers responded to the area with Department of Public Safety (DPS) Helo-9 and, with the assistance of an Alaska Dive, Rescue, and Recovery Team member, they were able to recover Rench’s body. They then coordinated the transportation of the body to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy and positive identification.

On May 23, 2025, the State Medical Examiner’s Office positively identified the man as 32-year-old Wasilla resident Skye Rench. Next of kin have been notified.

Back in early March, Rench was riding in an ATV with four other adults when it broke through the ice, and while three of the riders were able to get out of the water, but he and Sean Kendall, 42, from Anchorage, were reported to have gone under the ice in the current.

After an extensive search that included DPS aircraft and aircraft from the Civil Air Patrol that yielded no results, Alaska Wildlife Troopers changed from rescue to reactive.

Rench, who played football for Colony High School and was named Railbelt’s All-Conference Offensive Player of the Year, had recently finished racing in the Iron Dog, competing as a rookie.

A memorial was held for Skye on March 15 at Teeland Middle School, with standing room only, including nearly 200 people who attended via a Zoom call to watch the service from home and many of his friends had traveled from the Lower 48 to attend.

“He truly will be missed,” Skye’s mother Stacey Calder said in an earlier interview. “Losing him in our family is a major, major loss and we won’t be able to overcome this.”