The mysterious disappearances of the Alaska Triangle
Why have so many people inexplicably vanished in what has become known as the Alaska Triangle? Steven Rinella investigates in a Sky HISTORY series.
Image: In his new Sky HISTORY series 'Hunting History', Steven Rinella explore the mystery of the Alaska Triangle | Hunting History With Steven Rinella
You likely already know about the Bermuda Triangle, where more than 50 ships and 20 aircraft have strangely disappeared over the years. However, in Sky HISTORY series Hunting History with Steven Rinella, the outdoorsman investigates the Alaska Triangle — which, statistically, is more dangerous than its Bermuda cousin!
With his media appearances, Rinella has become famous for his knowledge of the natural world and how to survive challenges it can throw at humans. Now he’s tapping into this specialist expertise to examine the Alaska Triangle conundrum from a new perspective.
Is this US state’s treacherous weather and rugged terrain to blame for the number of people it has swallowed up? Why have entire planes entering this area vanished without a trace? Here’s a closer look at some of the most suspicious cases — and theories that have often been put forward in attempts to explain them.
Where is the Alaska Triangle?
The Bermuda Triangle is so-called because, well, it’s a triangle-shaped area in the Atlantic Ocean. The British Overseas Territory of Bermuda marks the triangle’s uppermost point (the other two are bounded by Florida and Puerto Rico).
So, where is the Alaska Triangle? Like the Bermuda Triangle, its boundaries are not officially defined. However, its three points touch the Alaskan cities of Anchorage and Juneau in the south and Utqiagvik in the north.
What happened to Boggs and Begich in 1972?
How did the Alaska Triangle develop its notoriety? It all started in 1972, when two Democratic Party politicians — Nick Begich and Hale Boggs — failed to return from a plane trip in the area.
Both men were members of the US House of Representatives. Begich represented Alaska’s at-large congressional district, while Boggs was the House Majority Leader. On 16th October 1972, Begich and Boggs boarded a small airplane that took off from Anchorage. The plane was headed to Juneau, but never arrived.
What happened to Boggs and Begich (and the other two men on the same flight, pilot Don Jonz and Begich’s aide Russell Brown)? The answer remained elusive despite a massive search-and-rescue mission. To date, no remains of the aircraft or its passengers have been found and identified.
Other chilling disappearances in the Alaska Triangle
Since the 1970s, more than 20,000 people entering the Alaska Triangle have never come back. Some especially well-publicised examples include Gary Frank Sotherden, who went missing while on a ‘70s hunting escapade to Alaska.
The mystery surrounding his fate was largely solved after the discovery of a human skull near the Porcupine River in the 1990s. DNA extracted from the skull in 2022 was confirmed to be Sotherden’s. According to the Alaska State Troopers, tooth penetrations on the skull suggested that he had been attacked by a bear.
A number of other Alaska Triangle disappearances, though, defy rational explanation. Field researcher Ken Gerhard recalled two people going AWOL even while he was conducting research in the Alaska Triangle. One of these people disappeared off a cruise ship, while the other had been 'on a very crowded tourist area on top of a mountain'.
Possible answers to the Alaska Triangle mystery
Terrifyingly, the rate of missing persons in Alaska per year is twice the national US average. What could account for so many disappearances? It seems unlikely that they could all be attributed to the same factors.
It’s no wonder, then, that so many different theories have sprouted up. One is that aliens are involved, given the relative prevalence of UFO sightings in the state.
There has similarly been talk of a legendary shapeshifter called the Kushtaka eager to pounce on humans. According to native Tlingit and Tsimshian people, this creature lures its prey by imitating other humans.
Steven Rinella has his say on the Alaska Triangle
In Hunting History with Steven Rinella, the man himself considers how Alaska’s extraordinary nature could have played a part in the Alaska Triangle story. Indeed, by scaling down a glacier, he sees how it could easily engulf travellers all by itself — no supernatural input needed!
Rinella opines: 'It’s not "supernatural", it’s "super nature"...In my view, it’s not "the Alaska Triangle", it’s just Alaska.'
Many other history buffs are bound to chip in with their own thoughts on the mystery. To keep yourself updated on what historians are saying, why not subscribe to the Sky HISTORY Newsletter?
