This was an extreme event and he was last seen on July 4, 2012 about 200 feet from the top of Mount Marathon, a 3022 feet high peak. Montana Women's Run is a proud member of the Road Runners Club of America. Race organisers take no responsibility for Michaels disappearance: Missing mom & baby- Gabriella Harkness Located, Bizarre Stories from the Alaska Triangle Successscan, Bizarre Stories from the Alaska Triangle Mid American News. Going off in the wrong direction, falling off, landslides, bear activitythere are so many things that could have happened and just nothing to go on. Our condolences to his family and friends.. Theyre not running, theyre free-falling. And that question has not been answered. Brandon Lawson The 911 call that led to a mysterious disappearance. So that I think is discouraging of people who are going to be taking four or five, six hours much longer to complete the race. Michael was competing for the first time in the 85th running of the Mount Marathon race, with participants running up the mountain surrounded, by thick forests and creeks over 3.1 to 3.5 miles. The race starts in Molt, MT at the Community Center. If he did turn 180 degrees in the wrong direction, he would then need to descend extremely steep and rough terrain on the south side of Mount Marathon, cross Lowell Creek, make a difficult climb up the Bear Mountain ridge, drop off it into the Spruce Creek drainage, climb yet another high ridge, and then drop into the Tonsina drainage. The chutes had snow bridges on them that have been collapsing all summer. Heres What To Know About the 2023 Canyons Endurance Runs by UTMB, Outside is Partnering with UTMB To Bring You Onto The Trails and Into the Action with Live and On-Demand Race Streaming. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Miracle in ice: Indian mountain climber found alive days after falling into crevasse, Famed Irish mountain climber dies descending from peak in Nepal, Triple-amputee soldier climbs Kilimanjaro to deliver a burger, Lost a dear friend: Adventurer crushed to death saving climber after huge ice column splits. Its in your mind every single day. Being declared dead by the court system doesnt remove someone from the state missing persons clearinghouse, said Austin McDaniel, a spokesman for the troopers. Distance runner Sarah Thomson has been found safe and well after she went missing at the weekend. Theres no designated trailyou just pick the best line. Relatives of Zalokar declined to comment Thursday, the Times reported. Earlier last week . The chutes had snow bridges on them that have been collapsing all summer. Theriault Boots: I think its the same intrigue that makes people going missing in Alaska so fascinating for some people, because its just the vastness of the wilderness. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon. The chutes had snow bridges on them that have been collapsing all summer. I guess I always thought this was a process that only happened after several years, or when concrete evidence supporting the missing person is deceased surfaced. LeMaitres disappearance changed the way the race operates. Usually by the time of race day, the water hasnt dried up, so you have to know what youre doing because its very steep and you can fall off. Family losing hope of finding missing runner on Mount Marathon SI Staff Aug 9, 2012 ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) -- Peggy LeMaitre no longer holds out hope that her husband is alive five weeks -. To get from where he was last seen in 2012 to where the jawbone was found would require that he first make a left turn off the Mount Marathon ridge when he knew a right turn was required to pick up the trail down. I chose to come down the cliffs in a crabwalk its so steephand, hand, foot, foot.. Download the app. She says, If youre not very capable and/or very familiar with the route, the cliff area and the scree can be dangerous.. Zalokars website says he was also the first runner to win his age group in all six Abbott World Marathon Majors races in Berlin, Boston, Chicago, New York, London and Tokyo. Scan this QR code to download the app now. Officials took a photo of Michael at the halfway point and he was smiling and seemed happy to continue. What happened to LeMaitre? Grove: What do you think this story tells people about Alaska or about what happened to this guy? Army grounds aviators for training after fatal crashes in Alaska and Kentucky, How do electric vehicles perform in Alaska? LeMaitre: People in Seward took care of me. For the first few minutes, its a very steep grade up a rock facequite technical. The serious risk of major injury or death is why the event isn't open to just anyone. | Alaska Insight, Litter of wolverine kits brings adorable triple threat to Alaska Zoo. A team of up to 60 searchers scoured the mountain, looking everywhere, even the other side, away from the race course. It has been sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office for further examination. During the court case, Chamber officials obtained access to the LaMaitres financial records in an effort to prove that Michael had staged his own disappearance and that he was alive. Zalokars website says he had attempted six of the Seven Summits the highest peak on each continent and summited five. Or remains need to be found.. I think that vastness and the proximity of that vastness to town and to thousands of people and spectators, that you could be gone without a trace while there are hundreds of runners and thousands of spectators, like a mile less than a mile away from you, is just a reminder for Alaskans of that very thin line we live in between our little patches of town and kind of infinite wilderness and the dangers of that. Grove:What do you think this story tells people about Alaska or about what happened to this guy? [5] In 2021, Hutchins committed to attending Brigham Young University,[6] and was scheduled to start classes in January 2022. Its not uncommon for racers to be injured, running to the top of 3,022-foot Mount Marathon and back down again. According to Squires, Some operations continued until July 15. Every year on July 4th, hundreds of burly mountain runners climb a punishing 3,022 ft in under a mile to Race Point on Mount Marathon and back down into Seward. Despite extensive searches, his body has never been recovered, and the details of his death remain a mystery. Law enforcement has to place eyes on him, alive and well, McDaniel said. Michelle Theriault Boots: During that race, it was terrible weather. Seward's Mount Marathon is one of the most watched, single-day sporting events in the 49th state. Casey Grove:And you took these questions back to the authorities. Join Outside+ to get Outside magazine, access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and more. Primate sightings in the Alaskan woods have the team puzzled, since experts say that monkeys have never lived in Alaska. The race is short, only three miles long. Walsh asked LeMaitre for his bib number and he replied Five-four-eight, and as he descended back towards the town he texted race officials: Bib number 548 would be home in about an hour and a half. The race, which is notorious for its extreme nature, covers approximately 3 miles of difficult terrain up and back down the Mount. After that point, he never returned. All rights reserved. There are now sweepers that follow the Red Lantern, the last runner down the mountain, to ensure every person has gotten off the mountain. What happened? An accomplished runner and mountain climber was found dead in Yosemite National Park days after he went missing, officials said. Casey Grove is the host of Alaska News Nightly and a general assignment reporter at Alaska Public Media with an emphasis on crime and courts. Unfortunately, it was not to be! On July 4, 2012, an Anchorage man named Michael LeMaitre went missing as he competed in Mount Marathon, the grueling Seward footrace typically held on the Fourth of July each year. Every Mount Marathon rookie is required to watch a graphic safety video the night before the race. There is hope that it might eventually be matched to the dental records of one of the missing people, but so far troopers haven't even been able to conclude who it isn't. "We haven't been able to rule out anybody,'' she said. You see people coming down off the mountain. Park officials said in a statement that the body of Fred Zalokar, 61, from Reno . A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. On July 4, 2012, an Anchorage man named Michael LeMaitre went missing as he competed in Mount Marathon, the grueling Seward footrace typically held on the Fourth of July each year. Downhill is 12 mph. No clothing has been spotted and no human remains have been discovered . The body of Fred Zalokar, 61, was recovered Tuesday near the peak of Californias 11,527-foot Mount Clark, where he went on a hike Saturday using an off-trail route and did not return, National Park Service officials said in a statement. Race volunteers headed down the mountain told him to make the turn and follow them to the finish. MaryAnne walked the mountain for weeks, looking for her dad. Searchers worried that if he wasnt already injured, he probably had hypothermia because of his light clothing, exhaustion and the freezing weather. He was last seen at about 6pm by an official who was heading down the mountain. Youre going on this trail in the trees and the brush. And then also, Michael LeMaitre had not been up and down the course ever before he raced. LeMaitre: Any time that Ive experienced anything like thisfriends who have gotten into car accidents and died, losing my grandmother to illnessthere was closure for that. Youve heard of Tough Mudder and the Spartan Race, but every Fourth of July, the town of Seward, Alaska, hosts a competition that rivals both. [8], Before injury shortened her season, Jenna posted nation-leading times in the 1600 (4:44.13) and 3200 meters (9:52.33) and lowered her own Science High 800 meter record to 2:13.65. What happened this yearit was quite devastating for the community. July 9, 2021 by Casey Grove, Alaska Public Media. And now, if you do Mount Marathon, you have to attest publicly, you have to sign something like in a public room full of other racers that says that you have been up and down the whole course. He didnt make it up Mount Everest, but he tried it, Crom said. But his disappearance prompted lasting safety changes to the way the race is run. My dad was in last place. But what happened in the 2012 Mount Marathon Race really stands out in Alaska lore. One of the organisers of the race, Karol Fink, said that in the months before the big day, there had been unusual amounts of snow We had a little more snow than usual. Race organizers instituted a number of new safety measures in 2013, including mandatory signed statements from runners that theyve completed training runs on the course, a one-hour time limit for racers to reach the summit, and sweeps of the mountain by volunteers after each wave of the race. No trail, an Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman said at the time. Its a bad idea to come down that way, but people do it. In the 1980s, when Echard was director, the senior mens and womens field was capped at 200; this year, it was 375. The road takes a few minutes before you hit what we call the mountain. Theriault Boots: I think its the same intrigue that makes people going missing in Alaska so fascinating for some people, because its just the vastness of the wilderness. I have a friend from Seward. At the time of her disappearance, troopers said that there was a note in her truck saying she didn't want a search. The. Theriault Boots: They searched, they didnt find anything. Its a bad idea to come down that way, but people do it. The volunteers, who had been on the mountain for 10 hours, had completed their duty and were descending when they encountered LeMaitre, who was in last place, just approaching the mountains summit. He literally vanished off the mountain. Whenever I asked for help, someone always said yes. While injuries are common and expected, LeMaitre's case was unprecedented. Two other runners sustained serious injuries in this years race. While running the Mount Marathon race in Alaska, Michael LeMaitre disappeared. When MaryAnne did not hear from her father after the race started on July 4, she knew something was wrong. He was plodding along and was in last place. There is an entry limit, with around 90 percent of the participants being returnees and with a coveted lottery ticket system in place. A world-renowned endurance athlete who went missing in California's Yosemite National Park has been found dead. Disappearance on Mount Marathon On July 4, 2012, runners gathered in Seward, Alaska, for a three-mile trail race up the mountain that looms 3,000 feet over Resurrection Bay.