Joseph Balderas was reported missing June 27th.
Terrible news from Alaska. Joseph Balderas, a law clerk in the Alaska court system since 2009, has been reported missing. According to KTVA, Balderas was hiking alone over the weekend, and reported missing on Monday, when he failed to show up for work.
Balderas’s vehicle was found along the Nome-Council Highway and Alaska State Troopers say he may have been running or hiking off the roadway.
A chartered helicopter and a National Park Service airplane searched Wednesday.
They were joined by three search dog teams from Fairbanks and two dozen other ground searchers using all-terrain vehicles.
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The Coast Guard has discontinued its search, but Balderas’s friends are fundraising to continue the search. From our tipster:
We’re hoping to reach out to the above the law community to get more traction and attention to this. This is one of the largest manhunts in recent Nome history, and it is trending on Facebook. We’d love to keep it going until we find Joseph.
You can donate to defraying the expense of the search efforts here, as the Facebook page notes, a search a rescue helicopter typically costs $800/hr.
Air, ground search continues for hiker missing Nome Hiker [KTVA]
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Kathryn Rubino is an editor at Above the Law. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).