Stephen A. Koch, 34, was an elementary school teacher from Soldotna who disappeared on Tustumena Lake on August 13, 1975. He and a friend were returning with the friend’s young son after a Dall sheep hunt, carrying a full-curl ram’s meat, horns, and hide in a 14-foot flat-bottomed SmokerCraft. Conditions on the lake that day were described as unfriendly, and other members of the hunting party had not yet arrived when the trio launched.

The exact sequence of what happened on the water is unknown. It is believed the small boat was likely swamped or capsized in turbulent waters. Search efforts by Alaska State Troopers and a Rescue Coordination Center team recovered the child’s body and much of the gear; the boat had flotation under the seats and some equipment had been tied down. The search was later abandoned and in early October both men were declared dead, weeks before the 1975-76 school year began.

If anyone knew Stephen Koch, his hunting companions, or was on Tustumena Lake that August, any recollections could help fill in what happened that day.