Virgil Tackett Missing Person Case

Apr 15, 2010

Sep 19, 2023

Virgil

Tackett

57

17

67 inches

140 lbs

White / Caucasian

Male

In the late spring of 1986, 17-year-old Virgil "Wade" Tackett traveled from his home in Ohio to the rugged landscapes of Southeast Alaska for a summer job. An adventurous and capable outdoorsman, he was looking forward to working on a commercial fishing boat, but a mix-up led him to a position at a local cannery instead. On June 11, 1986, just three weeks into his Alaskan journey, Virgil, a male with brown hair and blue eyes, disappeared from the vicinity of Pelican, a small fishing community. On that clear and calm day, he and a 16-year-old friend, Nick Bevans, took a 14-foot skiff to explore the islands near Pelican. After some time exploring, his friend stated that Virgil dropped him and a dog off on a small island to explore on his own. Virgil was never seen again. At the time of his disappearance, he was wearing green bib rain pants over a blue and gray plaid flannel shirt and a multicolored Hawaiian hat. The alarm was raised when Virgil failed to return to the small island to pick up his friend and the dog. The friend flagged down a passing boat for help. A short time later, Virgil's skiff was discovered less than a mile away, run aground on a sandbar near Chichagof Island with its motor still in gear. Inside the boat were a radio, a rifle, and two life jackets, but Virgil was not wearing one. The only other sign of him was the zipper pull from his vest, which was found in the bottom of the boat. The U.S. Coast Guard initiated a search of the surrounding waters and shoreline, but aside from a single oar found the next day, no trace of the missing teenager was located. Virgil had several distinctive features, including square-shaped earlobes, a chicken pox scar on his forehead, and a twelve-inch surgical scar on the left side of his body. The initial investigation by the Alaska State Troopers concluded that Virgil had likely fallen out of the skiff and drowned, a conclusion his family has never accepted. In the years that followed, the case grew more complex with a series of unconfirmed sightings reported across various Alaskan cities, including Juneau, Sitka, and Hoonah. One of the more mysterious aspects of the case occurred between October 1986 and January 1987, when the head of a missing children's organization received three anonymous phone calls from a woman who spoke about "Wade." In the first two calls, she claimed he was alive and being cared for, but in the final call, she stated he was "not doing well." These calls were never traced. There was even a potential sighting in Kingston, Ontario, Canada, in 1998, fueling speculation that he might be alive but suffering from amnesia. Despite these leads and the ongoing investigation, the disappearance of Virgil Wade Tackett remains an unsolved case, a lingering mystery amidst the vast and unforgiving Alaskan wilderness.

Jun 11, 1986

Pelican

Alaska

Skagway Yakutat Angoon County

No

26985

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

8638549

Alaska State Troopers

Brown

Blue

Blue

No

07/22/2026