Raymond Brown, Sr., 61, disappeared during a seal hunting trip on Kotzebue Sound. On the morning of May 20, 1999, Brown and a friend, Douglas Sheldon, left on separate snow machines across the sea ice. Both men were reported overdue on May 22, 1999, and a search followed.

Searchers found snow machine tracks that led directly to an open lead in the ice; the tracks ended at the water. Despite extensive efforts, neither Brown nor Sheldon was recovered, and no further physical evidence has been reported. The open lead and the shifting conditions of the Kotzebue Sound are the key, heartbreaking details in this case.

Did anyone in Kotzebue or the surrounding communities see their snow machines or notice unusual ice conditions around May 20–22, 1999?