Update 5 p.m. Wednesday 9-25-24:

Divers with the Sitka Fire Department found the body of 16-year old David Jackson in the outflow of Sawmill Creek in Silver Bay on Wednesday afternoon (9-25-24).

Jackson had been missing since Saturday night, when the car he was riding in rolled off Blue Lake Road and into a steep ravine.

Three other people involved in the accident were found by first responders late Saturday, and hospitalized with injuries.

An outpouring of support has appeared on social media on behalf of Jackson’s parents, Koren DeBell and TJ Jackson. Ceremonial dips were scheduled in both Juneau and Sitka Wednesday evening.

The car remains in Sawmill Creek, largely inaccessible by conventional salvage means. Paul Robbins, with the Tongass National Forest, says Sitka Ranger District personnel prioritized the search for Jackson over dealing with the car. He’s heard through incident command, however, that the vehicle is not posing an immediate environmental hazard.

“They have not seen any leaking of fuel so far – that’s not to say there isn’t any – just none has been witnessed so far,” said Robbins

Sawmill Creek is an important anadromous fish stream, adjacent to a hatchery operated by the Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association. Robbins says that the Forest Service and the state will work together to plan the car’s removal.

Update 12 p.m. Tuesday 9-24-24):

A crew from Sitka Search and Rescue remained in the field Tuesday (9-24-24), searching for a 16-year old boy missing since a car he was in left Blue Lake Road Saturday evening, and tumbled into a deep ravine.

Three other passengers from the vehicle were found Saturday night, and transported to the Mt. Edgecumbe Medical Center with injuries.

High water in Sawmill Creek has made searching difficult. Sitka Fire Chief Craig Warren says the ground search is continuing in the vicinity of the car, until the stream itself subsides after 72 hours of near-constant rainfall.

Warren told KCAW, “We have some fatigue issues. We’re taking this high water break to search Silver Bay.” Warren says searchers are using a side scan sonar in saltwater near the mouth of the creek. He’s not fully confident that the sonar can locate the victim, but it’s an available option when the fast-flowing creek is unsafe for divers.

A team from Juneau Search and Rescue which traveled to Sitka to support local crews over the weekend has since returned home.


Original Report:

A teenage boy remains missing after the vehicle he was in rolled into a steep ravine on Blue Lake Road over the weekend.

Shortly before 10:30 p.m. on Saturday (9-21-24) dispatchers received a 911 call reporting that a vehicle carrying four people drove off the edge of Blue Lake Road, and rolled down the slope and into the creek below. Police and fire first responders were on the scene in about 10 minutes. Fire Chief Craig Warren said the fire department sent five vehicles and 23 personnel to respond. 

“Two of the vehicle occupants were found up on the road, and a third was found on the south side of Sawmill Creek and carried out by Search and Rescue and Fire Department personnel,” Warren told KCAW in an interview on Monday (9-23-24).

All three victims were transported to the hospital with injuries. Searchers were unable to locate the fourth victim, either on the brushy slope or in the creek bed. Warren says they searched the area until 4 a.m., and then resumed at 7:30 a.m.

“We had personnel with the Sitka Search and Rescue, or the fire department’s search and rescue team, technical ropes team and the dive team out first thing Sunday morning searching both the slope that the vehicle went down and the river to see if the missing person was in the river,” Warren said. “We have been searching both sides of the riverbed all the way to the mouth where Sawmill Creek enters the ocean at Silver Bay.” 

An emergency response vessel did a shoreline search on Sunday afternoon through Silver Bay to Medvejie Hatchery. A storm system that moved in on Sunday brought additional challenges to the search effort. The team paused again on Sunday evening due to safety concerns around personnel fatigue, and called for backup from Juneau.

“This is not easy country, and basically our mission started at 10 p.m. the night before. Some people were fortunate enough to get a couple hours sleep on Sunday morning before coming back in and starting again,” Warren said. “We have brought in Juneau Mountain Rescue because of our fatigue, and they are going to do more wide area search patterns where the vehicle went down.”

Warren said they are in constant contact with law enforcement, as the scene is both an active accident investigation and a missing person investigation. Warren said they plan to continue searching Monday and possibly Tuesday to ensure they’ve left no stone unturned. 

A press release from the Sitka Police Department confirmed that the missing person was a 16-year-old boy, but a spokesperson told KCAW that police have not released his name because it is an active investigation. 

Editor’s Note: This is a developing story and may be updated.