John Edward Mayfield was 32 and from Galena when he went missing on November 28, 1999, after his snowmachine fell through ice at the junction of the Koyukuk and Yukon rivers. He was wearing a blue snowsuit, white VB boots and a helmet. The ice there was thought to be solid but gave way, and the machine plunged into an open hole, pulling him into the frigid, fast-moving water.

Searches were conducted but did not recover him. The Alaska State Troopers concluded he is presumed to have drowned; the remote location, shifting ice and deep cold water likely concealed any trace. His family was left without the closure of a recovered body, and the case stands as a reminder of how hazardous Alaska’s rivers can be.

If anyone was on the rivers near the Koyukuk–Yukon junction that day or has information about the November 28, 1999 incident, please share what is known.