Troy Lynn Duncan was a 34-year-old trooper based in Fairbanks who died on May 19, 1984, near Manley Hot Springs, Alaska, during an airborne search for a suspected spree killer. Spotters had located 25-year-old Michael Alan Silka along the Zitziana River, and as Special Emergency Response Team helicopters closed in, Silka fired a .30-06 round that pierced a helicopter windshield and struck Duncan in the head. Another trooper was wounded in the face.

Trooper Jeff Hall returned fire from the air with an M16, killing Silka on the riverbank as the helicopters maneuvered above the Interior Alaska wilderness. The confrontation came amid a broader emergency: villagers had reported acquaintances missing after visits to a boat landing on the nearby Tanana River, and as the river thawed and rose, bodies of some missing residents were recovered downstream, confirming fears of a mass killing centered on the boat landing.

A memorial service for the victims was held at the river on May 20, 1984. Duncan is listed among officers killed in the line of duty; the suspect died at the scene and was never arrested. Does anyone have memories of the Manley Hot Springs search or the river memorial that could shed more light on how the community responded?