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Bethel Teens Rescued By the Alaska National Guard

nationalguard.mil

The Alaska National Guard rescued 2 teenagers on Wednesday near Bethel after they got stranded on Monday.  The teens, age 18 and 16, were on a day hunt near Bethel when they got caught in a blizzard and lost cell phone service.

A search was undertaken by the Bethel Search and Rescue team and State Troopers but poor visibility hindered the search. The Alaska National Guard was called in to help on Tuesday morning and a search was undertaken by a crew on a Black Hawk helicopter but they were unable to spot the missing teens. A C-130 joined the search that night but again the teens were not found.

On Thursday the National Guard Blackhawk crew searched once again and they spotted the teens about 16-miles west of Bethel. The Blackhawk landed and recovered the teens just before 11-am. They were taken to the local hospital for treatment of frostbite and dehydration.