Recent News

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — A woman who had been hired to clean up the mess left after an embezzlement case has been sentenced for embezzling money herself.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported Sunday that Bonnie R. Adams was sentenced to six months in prison and three years of probation after being charged with theft, scheming to defraud and falsifying business records.

Alaska State Troopers discovered Adams wrote at least $33,604 of checks to herself from the Beaver Kwit’chin Corporation account between November 2012 and March 2013.

The BKC board of directors appointed Adams in April 2012 to help determine how many current living shareholders the corporation had after she exposed three embezzlers for stealing approximately $900,000 from the corporation.

Adams will be free on bail until after her restitution determination hearing July 21.

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — Federal investigators say 2 planes crashed more than 600 miles apart in Alaska almost simultaneously Saturday, killing a total of four people.

KTUU-TV reports the National Transportation Safety Board said two died and a third person was injured when their Piper PA-30 went down nine miles southwest of Haines at around 11 a.m. The injured person was flown by helicopter to Juneau for medical treatment.

Authorities said witnesses reported seeing the twin-engine plane crash shortly after takeoff.

Meanwhile, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports two people died when a single-engine Arctic Aircraft S-1B2 crashed east of Fairbanks, also at about 11 a.m.

Alaska State Troopers reported late Saturday that both the pilot and passenger died in the crash.

BETHEL, Alaska (AP) — Starting next month, the management of king salmon on a southwestern Alaska river will transfer from state control to federal.

KYUK-AM reports that as of June 12, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will begin to oversee the salmon living on lower and middle Kuskokwim River. Under federal law, the switch is necessary when there is poor return of king salmon. By taking over the fishery, the service is responsible for ensuring that local people receive subsistence priority.

According to the report, the feds may announce gillnet fishing openings depending on the condition of the run.

Refuge Manager Ken Stahlnecker says one opening is already scheduled for June 12. He expects fishers will be allowed to harvest as many as salmons this year as last year: about 40,000 kings.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The remains of an Arkansas National Guardsman killed 65 years ago in a plane crash in Alaska have been returned to his home state.

Staff Sgt. Robert Dale Van Fossen was 21 when his plane went missing on Nov. 22, 1952, after he and other troops flew through harsh weather.

Wreckage was found eight days later, but the remains of many of those killed weren’t found until 2012, when the site was rediscovered by a Black Hawk helicopter on a routine training mission. Van Fossen’s remains were identified through DNA testing last year.

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has ordered state flags to be flown at half-staff to honor Van Fossen.

The governor signed a proclamation saying the state was proud to bring Van Fossen home, “to honor his life, accomplishments and service to his nation.”

A funeral is scheduled for Saturday.

JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — U.S. Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke (ZINK’-ee) will visit Alaska.

The state’s congressional delegation announced Zinke will arrive Saturday for a multi-day trip that will include a visit to Prudhoe Bay.

His itinerary also includes visiting Denali National Park and Preserve, which is celebrating its centennial, and meetings with Interior Department employees and the Alaska Federation of Natives in Anchorage.

On Wednesday, also in Anchorage, Zinke is scheduled to address an Alaska Oil and Gas Association conference.

Zinke, a former Montana congressman, was confirmed as Interior secretary earlier this year.

In a joint statement, Alaska’s congressional delegation says it looks forward to showing Zinke Alaska’s beauty and potential and the impact that Interior Department decisions have on Alaskans’ lives.

Gov. Bill Walker’s office says Walker also will meet with Zinke.

FAIRBANKS, Alaska (AP) — Fairbanks police officers shot and killed a car chase suspect after the man rammed law enforcement vehicles that had blocked his pickup at a Mitchell Expressway onramp.

The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports the suspect’s name has not been released.

Alaska State Troopers first spotted the man with outstanding felony warrants driving a white pickup Thursday.

Troopers chased him down the Richardson Highway, and Troopers Lt. Brian Wassmann says witnesses reported the suspect fired at officers.

Fairbanks police joined the chase and deployed a spike strip to deflate the pickup’s tires. The man rammed law enforcement vehicles and they closed in on him.

Wassmann says that’s when “Fairbanks police officers then discharged their weapons.”

The man was injured and taken to a local hospital, where he later died.