Two still missing after ATV breaks through ice on the Susitna River

A search for two missing people by Alaska Wildlife Troopers changed from rescue to reactive following days of searching with no new updates.

On March 6, 2025, Alaska Wildlife Troopers received a report that a side-by-side ATV with five adults aboard broke through the ice on the Susitna River. Three of the riders were able to get out of the water, but two, later identified as Skye Rench, 32, of Wasilla, and Sean Kendall, 42, from Anchorage, were reported to have gone under the ice in the current, according to an online dispatch.

Rench, who played football for Colony High School and was named Railbelt’s All-Conference Offensive Player of the Year in 2010, had recently finished racing in the Iron Dog, competing as a rookie.

The three people who made it safely out of the water were able to walk to a nearby work camp, and later picked up by chartered helicopter. They declined medical assistance.

Troopers responded to the area with Department of Public Safety (DPS) Helo-9 and a DPS fixed wing plane to search for Rench and Kendall at their last known location, downstream to the mouth of the Susitna River.

Search efforts continued through the weekend, including DPS aircraft and aircraft from the Civil Air Patrol. Reports indicate that ice in the area is unstable and search efforts other than by aircraft are not possible at this time.

Troopers will be reacting to new information and determining what, if any, search assets should be directed to investigate.

The three people who made it safely out of the water walked to a nearby work camp and were later picked up by chartered helicopter. They declined medical assistance.