Quinn Whitten Missing Person Case

Dec 29, 2025

Dec 30, 2025

Quinn

Whitten

50

50

71 inches

185 lbs

Uncertain

Male

In the late hours of a December night in Sitka, Alaska, 50-year-old Quinn Whitten and his roommate, 31-year-old Josiah Bracken, embarked on a short sea journey that would become their last. On December 13, 2025, under a dark sky with poor weather conditions including high winds and snow, the two men left Back Beach in a 14-foot Lund skiff. Their destination was Whitten's floathouse located in Camp Coogan Bay, a roughly five-nautical-mile trip across the water. They were expected to return the following day, but as time passed with no word, concern began to grow among their friends and family. The alarm was officially raised on December 15, 2025, when Whitten and Bracken failed to show up for work, prompting a report to the authorities. The United States Coast Guard, along with Alaska State Troopers and local search and rescue teams, initiated a search effort. The search was extensive, covering over 158 square miles of water and shoreline by air and sea. However, the challenging weather conditions that were present on the night of their departure hampered the search efforts, with a Coast Guard small boat having to turn back at one point due to the severe weather. Despite the multi-agency effort, which also included the U.S. Forest Service and Good Samaritan vessels, the official search was suspended on December 17, 2025, pending any new information, after finding no trace of the two men or their skiff. In the weeks and months that followed the disappearance of Quinn Whitten and Josiah Bracken, their families and friends were left grappling with uncertainty and the pain of their absence. The families called for continued support from the community and officials in the recovery and investigation efforts. Adding to the family's distress, a theft was reported from the Camp Coogan Bay floathouse in late December, with a woman later indicted for stealing firearms and other items from the residence in the days after the men went missing. In a move to find legal closure, Whitten's mother filed a petition for a presumptive death declaration in January 2026. Reports later emerged that the skiff the men were using was known to take on water and had been heavily loaded with supplies on the night they disappeared. The case of Quinn Whitten and Josiah Bracken remains a heartbreaking mystery, a story of an adventure that ended in tragedy amidst the unforgiving Alaskan waters.

Dec 13, 2025

Sitka

Alaska

Sitka Borough

Sitka

No

184265

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

AK25124330

2025-12-15

Alaska State Troopers

Brown

Blue

Blue

07/04/2026