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The body of Harlan Kingeekuk of Savoonga was found around 6 p.m. Thursday after he had been missing for about five days. Local volunteer search ground crews recovered Kingeekuk’s body before a Coast Guard helicopter arrived on the scene.

A Savoonga Village Police Officer reported Kingeekuk missing four days after he left on a four-wheeler to visit an archaeological dig site. Local volunteer searchers located Kingeekuk’s ATV last Wednesday off the trail heading towards the east side of St. Lawrence Island.

Kingeekuk never made it to the dig site. His body was discovered the next evening somewhere between the site and the community of Savoonga. According to an Alaska State Trooper dispatch, Kingeekuk appeared to have suffered from hypothermia.

Kingeekuk’s body is being transported to Anchorage for an autopsy. He was 56 years old.

Gov. Bill Walker vetoed a bill today that would have set aside University of Alaska board seats for residents from different geographic areas.

The governor will continue to be able to appoint the 11 Board of Regents members without geographic limits on where they live.

Supporters of House Bill 107 said the bill would increase the representation of Matanuska-Susitna and Kenai boroughs, as well as residents who live off of the road system.

Walker said in a letter to House Speaker Mike Chenault that there’s no evidence that some areas are unheard, and that it’s important for board members to respect each area.

He also opposed a provision that required residents to live in an area for two years before joining the board, saying it isn’t consistent with Alaska’s embrace of personal freedom.

Bill sponsor Wasilla Republican Lynn Gattis said she doesn’t agree with Walker’s reasoning.

“Boy, that’s a lot of BS, and you could go ahead and put that on the radio,” Gattis said. “Because I think the bottom line is, the fact that we do have very different regions. That’s why we elect representatives from those different regions. They bring a different flavor to the table.”

It’s Walker’s fifth veto as governor, other than budget line-item vetoes.

A stolen City of Nome pickup was found abandoned and in ruin Tuesday morning off the Kougarok Road.

The vehicle belonged to Nome City Manager Tom Moran, who said the truck was stolen from outside of his apartment on Monday night between 10 p.m. and 6:30 a.m.

“At 7:05 a.m., I got a call from the Nome police dispatch, which handles dispatching for the Alaska State Troopers, after business hours, and they asked me if my vehicle had been in a collision on the Kougarok Road at about mile six. I told them it had not,” he said. “They called back and said it was a black pick-up with a yellow logo, so I got out of bed and went outside to look, and sure enough, the vehicle was missing.”

The Nome Volunteer Fire Department and Volunteer Ambulance Department surveyed the crash site located at mile 7.1 on the Kougarok Road.

No one was found injured at the site.

Police suspect that the person driving the stolen truck may have sustained injuries.

The pickup is a total loss, Nome City Police Chief John Papasadora said after a scene investigation.

This isn’t the first time a car has been reported stolen and abandoned in Nome this summer, but Papasadora said this isn’t unusual.

“We get several stolen vehicles a year,” he said. “Most of them fit the same format. Somebody leaves the keys inside a vehicle or leaves the vehicle unsecured.”

Papasadora recommends Nome residents to be vigilant.

“Protect your property. Protect your homes. Protect yourselves and exercise good security, and perhaps we can avoid some of these situations.”

Currently, there are no known suspects.

Nome police are actively investigating to identify who took the vehicle.

In the meantime, the stolen, city-owned pickup truck has been towed and currently resides in the police impound lot.

The investigation continues into a mid-air plane collision northwest of Russian Mission on Wednesday that left no survivors.

Alaska State Troopers and investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board are heading to the crash sites today.

“Our focus is on body recovery efforts,” said Megan Peters, public information officer for the Alaska State Troopers.

“The NTSB is the agency that actually investigates the cause and circumstances of aircraft crashes.”

The recovered bodies will be sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office in Anchorage. Alaska State Troopers have identified the two aircraft and the five victims.

The Renfro’s Alaskan Adventure Super Cub flying from Bethel to a hunting camp carried pilot Zach Justin Babat of Montana, 44, and passenger Jeff Thomas Burruss of Haines, 40.

The RAVN C208 Caravan flying from Russian Mission to Marshall carried pilot Harry Wrase of Wasilla, 48, and passengers Aaron Jay Minock of Russian Mission, 21, and Steven Paul Andrew of Kenai, 32.

NTSB Alaska Chief Clint Johnson said the planes crashed about a half-mile away from each other across a terrain of rolling hills and thick alders. Two investigators reached the Caravan crash site Wednesday evening just before dark.

“The briefing I was able to get from Mike Hodges, who was on scene briefly last night, indicated that the airplane is badly fragmented. Didn’t go into any other details,” Johnson said Thursday morning.

With the hike through the dense brush and rapid loss of daylight, the investigators were only at the site a short while.

“What they were able to do,” Johnson said, “was get an idea of what equipment is going to be needed to do their job.”

NTSB investigators are reviewing the limited radar data available from the area. At this point, how the planes collided is unknown.

“Keep in mind that where this accident or mid-air collision took place is in what we refer to as uncontrolled air space where they’re not under control of any air traffic control, or ATC, services at the time,” Johnson said. There is what we refer to as ADSB, which is a type of tracking system. But nevertheless, this accident took place in uncontrolled airspace, so it’s incumbent on each one of the pilots, each one of the flight crews to see and avoid the other airplane.”

Kristen DiMartino was one of the last people to see Wrase, the RAVN pilot, and one of his passengers alive Wednesday. She was one of the three people on the RAVN plane as it flew from Bethel to Russian Mission and remembers Wrase and the other passenger admiring the aircraft.

“I feel like I’m still in shock, because I’ll never get that image out of them being so happy.” DiMartino said. “They were so happy. They were just talking about the plane and literally saying how awesome it was, and then I find out they’re gone.”

The plane dropped DiMartino off in Russian Mission and picked up another passenger before flying north to Marshall. The plane never reached its destination.

Behavioral health counselors with the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation are standing by at village clinics across the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta and in Bethel to talk with family members and loved ones of the victims. Anyone who would like to call and speak with an emergency clinician can call 907-543-6499.

A Haines man was one of five people killed in a midair plane crash in Southwest Alaska Wednesday morning.

Jeff Burruss, 40, was the passenger in a Super Cub plane operated by Bethel-based Renfro’s Alaskan Adventures.

Burruss’ Facebook profile says he worked as a hunting and fishing guide for Renfro’s.

According to State Troopers, the plane was flying from Bethel to a hunting camp when the collision happened. The Super Cub was piloted by Montana resident Zach Babat and Burruss was the only passenger.

The other aircraft was a Hageland Aviation Cessna 208 Caravan flying from Russian Mission to Marshall, carrying three people. The pilot was Harry Wrase of Wasilla and the passengers were Steven Andrew of Kenai and Aaron Minock of Russian Mission.

The two planes collided northwest of Russian Mission. State troopers in Bethel were notified of the crash at about 11 a.m. Wednesday. There were no survivors when rescue workers arrived on the scene.

The National Transportation Safety Board is investigating the crash.

Police arrested a man in connection with a stabbing that occurred in Bethel over the weekend.

Police have charged Mathew Romer, 25, on one count of assault in the first degree.

The victim, a 26-year-old man from Newtok, was found Saturday morning, lying on the ground in the 200 block of Akiak Drive bleeding from the abdomen.

Emergency workers transported him to the Yukon Kuskokwim Health Corporation before flying him to Anchorage where he’s listed in stable condition at the Alaska Native Medical Center.

Bethel Police continue investigating the case and ask any witnesses to contact them.