William Childress Missing Person Case

Dec 30, 2019

Jan 11, 2024

William

Childress

88

42

71 inches

165 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

In the remote and rugged landscape of southeastern Alaska, the disappearance of William "Bill" Thomas Childress in the spring of 1980 has left a lingering silence. At 42 years old, Childress was last seen on May 28, 1980, in the vicinity of Point Baker, a small fishing community on the Prince of Wales Island. He was known to be an experienced boater, familiar with the often-treacherous waters of the region. On that late spring day, he set out on a journey by boat, navigating the passage between Point Baker and La Boucher Bay. The details surrounding his intended trip remain somewhat vague, but it was a route he had likely traveled before, a common waterway for local mariners. The initial concern for Childress's welfare grew into a full-scale search when he failed to arrive at his destination. The vast and unforgiving Alaskan wilderness can be perilous, and the community, along with the Alaska State Troopers, quickly mobilized to find him. The pivotal and most somber discovery of the search came when Childress's boat was found. The vessel was located floating and overturned in the water, a silent testament to a journey that had gone terribly wrong. Despite the immediate and extensive search efforts that followed the discovery of the boat, there was no sign of William Childress. The cold, turbulent waters of the Inside Passage offered no clues as to what had transpired, leaving his family and the close-knit community to grapple with the profound uncertainty of his fate. Decades have passed since William Childress vanished into the Alaskan waters, yet his case remains an open wound for those who knew him and for the wider community of missing persons in the state. The Alaska State Troopers continue to list him as a missing person, a designation that holds onto a sliver of hope, however slim, while also acknowledging the painful reality that so many questions remain unanswered. The circumstances of his disappearance, centered around the overturned boat, point towards a tragic accident at sea. However, without any further evidence or the recovery of his remains, the exact sequence of events on that May day in 1980 cannot be definitively known. The case of William Childress is a poignant reminder of the power and unpredictability of the natural world, particularly in a place as wild and immense as Alaska, and it stands as one of the many long-unsolved mysteries that haunt the Last Frontier.

May 28, 1980

Point Baker

Alaska

Prince of Wales – Hyder Census Area

No

70484

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

AK19093047

1980-05-28

Alaska State Troopers

Brown

Hazel

Hazel

No

07/03/2026