On the evening of September 9, 2005, fifteen-year-old Joseph Ferrenlee Tomaganuk was in a canoe near the Hooper Bay airport with two friends, 16-year-old Daylon Tall and 15-year-old Clara Wilson. Strong winds and a powerful current from the Akuliikuatuq River swept the canoe toward the Bering Sea. None of the teens were wearing flotation devices; witnesses said the boat was first tipped by a wave and then overturned by another, tossing the occupants into rough surf.

Clara Wilson’s body was recovered about 200 feet from shore the next morning and pronounced dead at a local clinic. Despite a large local search effort hampered by gale-force winds, Joseph Tomaganuk and Daylon Tall were not found and are presumed to have drowned. The village organized search teams and brought in grief counselors to help families and students.

If anyone was in Hooper Bay that night or has information about the search and what happened near the river mouth, please share what is remembered.