Walter Hawk Missing Person Case

Jan 23, 2017

Mar 13, 2024

Walter

Hawk

53

43

66 inches

230 lbs

American Indian / Alaska Native

Male

In the remote village of Tuluksak, Alaska, a 43-year-old man named Walter Hawk vanished into the vast wilderness. On July 12, 2016, Hawk, a male described as a vulnerable adult, was last seen after spending the night at a relative's home. When his family awoke the next morning, he was gone. He was wearing a blue hooded sweatshirt and blue dress pants at the time of his disappearance. This was not the first time Hawk had wandered off; his sister recalled that he would often attempt to walk to Anchorage, a journey of hundreds of miles, but would always return within four days. This time, however, would be different. The days following Walter Hawk's disappearance were filled with a strange mix of hope and frustration for those searching for him. Search parties, including members of the Tuluksak Search and Rescue, Alaska State Troopers, and concerned locals, scoured the area. In a bizarre turn of events, Hawk was spotted multiple times in the days and weeks after he went missing. On one occasion, a search and rescue team saw him through binoculars about nine miles up the Tuluksak River, but he was too far away to reach before nightfall. Fearing they might scare him off if they shouted, they decided to wait until morning, but by then, he had vanished again. In each sighting, he appeared dirty but otherwise unharmed. Searchers would leave food and juice in the locations where he was seen, hoping to lure him back, but the provisions were often left untouched. As the search continued, small clues into Hawk's survival in the Alaskan wilderness began to emerge. Searchers discovered an old blanket and sleeping bag under some trees, believed to have been taken from a nearby abandoned house and used by Hawk. It was also believed he was subsisting on the abundant berries in the area. Despite these signs of life, each sighting was fleeting. When a search team would get close and call out his name, he would run away. The longest he had ever been gone before was four days, but this disappearance stretched into weeks, and then a month, with no resolution. The case of Walter Hawk is a perplexing one, marked by repeated but unsuccessful sightings that offered glimpses of hope to his family and community. The fact that he was seen alive and seemingly well in the initial days and weeks after he vanished makes his ultimate fate all the more mysterious. Despite extensive search efforts by local authorities and volunteers, Walter Hawk was never found, and his case remains an unsolved missing persons investigation.

Jul 12, 2016

Tuluksak

Alaska

Bethel Census Area

No

19298

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

AK16052988

2016-07-16

Alaska State Troopers

Black

Brown

Brown

07/14/2026