Lorence Marvin Dobson, 50, disappeared from Portage Lake near Whittier, Alaska, in the autumn of 2012 while gold panning. On October 8, 2012, he was on the water when the canoe he was using drifted away. Dobson entered the cold, glacier-fed lake to try to retrieve the vessel and was not seen again.

Alaska State Troopers were notified October 9 and launched search and rescue operations in the area where he was last seen, but no trace of him was found. He was wearing shorts and a black t-shirt, clothing that would have offered little protection from the lake’s frigid temperatures. Authorities say the circumstances suggest he likely drowned, but his body has never been recovered and the investigation remains open.

Dobson is registered as a missing person with the Alaska State Troopers and his case is listed in the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Descriptive details include a discoloration and a mole on his right leg and scars on both forearms.

Did anyone in the Portage Lake area see Dobson or his canoe on or after October 8, 2012?