A Tennesse couple who went missing last week while hiking in Alaska have been found alive.
The alarm was raised for 50-year-old Jonas Bare and Cynthia Hovesepian, 37, when they failed to check out of their vacation rental in downtown Fairbanks on 11 August. Alaska State Troopers and Fairbanks police canvassed the Chena Hot Springs Resort after their rental vehicle was located at the popular destination about 60 miles outside of Fairbanks.
On Friday evening, Mr Bare was spotted by two hikers approximately 200 yards from Chena Hot Springs Resort. He told them he was uninjured and had left his wife behind to seek help.
Mr Bare was taken to the Alaska Wildlife Troopers’ command post and then guided rescuers to the area where Ms Hovesepian was located, about three miles from the resort.
Ms Hovesepian is visually impaired and relies on a cane, The New York Post reports. Mr Bare’s uncle told the outlet that the couple had become dazed and confused by the 20 hours of sunlight in Alaska during this time of the year.
“They were lost, I’m sure, and disoriented or else they would have been out of there,” the uncle said.
Alaska State Troopers said that the rescue operation took about three hours and Mr Bare and Ms Hovesepian were evaluated by emergency responders. Their condition has not been released at this time.
Authorities had searched the resort’s interior for days with helicopters, small unmanned aircraft systems, ATVs, professional search and rescue teams, and K9 units.
Jonas Bare and his wife Cynthia Hovespian were reported missing after they failed to check out of their vacation rental on 11 August— (Fairbanks Police Department)
The couple were located on Friday evening at the Chena Hot Springs Resorts— (Fairbanks Police Department)
Mr Bare’s recent Facebook posts suggested that the couple had planned their trip to celebrate his birthday, as he wrote that he was visiting his 50th state for his 50th birthday.
The post also stated that he was “not going to get lost like I did 10 years ago in Australia and Katoomba Range”.
“The Alaska Wildlife Troopers would like to thank the professional volunteer search teams and Chena Hot Springs Resort for their assistance with this operation,” read a statement by Alaska State Troopers after the couple was found.
