Nafiun Awal Missing Person Case

Jun 05, 2023

May 15, 2024

Nafiun

Awal

35

32

65 inches

145 lbs

Asian

Male

In the vast and challenging wilderness of Alaska, 32-year-old Nafiun Awal of Seattle, Washington, and his climbing partner, 34-year-old Eli Michel of Columbia City, Indiana, embarked on a formidable alpine ascent. On the morning of Friday, May 5, 2023, the two men made their last contact with a friend via a satellite communication device, indicating their plan to climb the West Ridge of the Moose's Tooth in Denali National Park. This rugged 10,335-foot peak, known for its technical difficulty, large rock faces, and long ice couloirs, is a test piece for seasoned mountaineers. The climbers intended to tackle the route in a single, long push, a common strategy to move quickly by minimizing gear, which meant forgoing overnight equipment and carrying only a day's worth of supplies. A friend alerted park officials on Sunday, May 7, after the climbers failed to make further contact, prompting the launch of a search and rescue operation. National Park Service mountaineering rangers dispatched in a helicopter soon located the duo's unattended tent. From the campsite, rangers followed ski tracks to the base of the climbing route, where they found the pair's skis, left behind as they switched to crampons for the steep ascent. The trail of boot prints continued up the West Ridge, leading directly into the path of a recent small slab avalanche; no tracks were seen leaving the slide area. Aerial searches of the avalanche's 3,200-foot fall line revealed some of the climbers' equipment, including a helmet and two ice axes, scattered down the slope. Despite extensive search efforts over several days, which included a total of 7.8 flight hours and ground searches by rangers on helicopter short-haul lines, no sign of Awal or Michel was found. The search was severely hampered by hazardous conditions, including the risk of further avalanches, rockfall, and a heavily crevassed glacier at the base of the peak, which likely concealed any debris from the slide. On May 11, 2023, after considering the severity of the terrain, the climbers' limited supplies, and the duration of time since they were last heard from, the National Park Service announced it was scaling back the active search. Officials concluded that survival was outside the window of possibility. This decision marked a somber end to the intensive search, with the case representing the inherent risks of mountaineering in one of North America's most challenging environments, where two skilled climbers are presumed to have been tragically swept away by an avalanche high on a remote Alaskan peak.

May 05, 2023

Denali Park

Alaska

Denali Borough

No

125671

National Park Service

Denali Park

Alaska

Denali Borough

99755

PO Box 9, Alaska

9076839555

Federal

Law Enforcement

NP23115732

2023-05-07

National Park Service

1957

Black

Brown

Brown

07/19/2026