Paul Scott McCord, 34, disappeared on October 27, 1996, while riding a snowmobile from Barrow to Wainwright on Alaska’s North Slope. He was traveling a scheduled 90-mile route to see patients the next day and was carrying maps, a compass and a GPS. He wore a red and black Marmot Expedition Parka, a green RefrigiWear full body suit, two pairs of Patagonia long underwear, black Northern Outfitter boots and beaver mittens.

A severe storm moved in that day with winds up to 52 miles per hour and near-zero visibility; schools in Barrow were closed for only the second time in two decades. At 9:50 p.m. an emergency personal locator beacon was activated about 25 miles from Wainwright, prompting a six-day multi-agency search involving village crews, helicopters, fixed-wing aircraft and a Coast Guard C-130. Searchers found tracks that led onto the sea ice and then stopped; the storm likely pushed the ice out into the Arctic Ocean where wind chill reached about minus 43 degrees. His snowmobile was later reported washed up on a beach, but McCord himself was never located.

Anyone who knew Paul, saw him that day, or has information about his route or the area where tracks ended is asked to come forward.