- Gary Frank Sotherden disappeared almost 50 years ago in Alaska. It was only in 2023 that the police discovered that the remains found in the area where he disappeared belonged to a young man.
- After years of speculation, the most likely theory was that he was the victim of a bear
- Despite solving the mystery, the parents of the deceased did not learn the truth about their son. They died before investigators found out what happened to him
- You can find more stories like this on the Onet home page
One day, a call from the police disturbed Steve Sotherden. They called a man in 2023 with important information about his brother’s disappearance. There would be nothing strange about this, if not for the fact that Gary Frank disappeared in Alaska in 1976, almost 50 years ago. Officials found a skull in the state in 1997 and finally identified it almost 30 years later. It turned out to be the missing Gary.
Alaska disappearance mystery solved
“There was no closure because we were hoping he would still be alive,” Gary’s brother, Steve Sotherden, said on As It Happens. “We realize now that this is not true,” he said.
In 2023, police officers from the state of Alaska identified the skull that was found in 1997 in Alaska. The discovery was made by a local hunter. After years of speculation, it has finally been confirmed that these are the missing remains of Gary Frank Sotherden.
This progress came as a result of advances in the field of forensic genealogy, which combines DNA testing with extensive genealogical research using public records and genetic databases.
In addition, he managed to get closer to solving the mystery of what happened to the young man in 1976 in Alaska.
The police could not confirm the cause of death with certainty, but the brother of the deceased said “It appears he died as a result of being mauled by a bear.”
The brothers’ parents died without knowing the truth about one of their sons. “I think it would give them some peace of mind, but they would also be upset about the way he died,” Sotherden said. “In a way, I’m glad they don’t have to hear it,” he said.
He dreamed of an adventure in the desert. He went to Alaska and was never heard from again
Steve still remembers the last conversation he had with his brother. It was the evening before he started to explore the Porcupine River on the north side of the Arctic Circle, about 10 miles from Canada.
The brother asked Gary to come home. “We didn’t see him for years. But of course he had made his plans and arrangements, he was ready to fly… and there was no way he was going home,” he said. “There was nothing else I could do at that time. He was a free spirit and he had his own ideas about what he wanted to do and he did those things,” he said.
Gary Sotherden was familiar with the area as he had previously worked on a pipeline in Alaska. He went there with a friend. They planned to walk on either side of the river and meet at the other end. However, Sotherden never appeared.
An immediate police investigation did not reveal the man’s disappearance. The boy’s parents hired a mountain guide to look for him in 1977. He found his glasses and identity card, but there was no sign of the man himself.
The Sotherdens tried to move on. They placed a tombstone for their son with the inscription: “Missing in Alaska.”
In July 1997, a hunter called police officers in Fairbanks, Alaska, and said he had found a human skull near the Porcupine River, 13 kilometers from the Canadian border. Officers responded to the scene but found no other remains. The skull was turned over to the state coroner’s office as unidentified.
In April 2022, the police decided to reopen the caseciting “relatively recent successes by the department using genetic genealogy to identify unknown perpetrators and victims.”
Investigators confirmed that it was Gary’s remains that were missing.
The Secret Alaskan Triangle
The story of the disappearance of man becomes even more interesting if we take into account that fact the event took place in an area known as the Alaska Triangle. In the largest US state, between the cities of Barrow, Anchorage and Juneau, there is an area where more than 20,000 people have died over 50 years. people. Most of these people have not been found. And although it is usually said that this area is so big that it is not a problem to get lost here, the area still gives pleasure to fans of slightly darker theories.
2024-10-03 04:33:00
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