Elizabeth Wassillie Missing Person Case

Nov 18, 2020

Feb 23, 2024

Elizabeth

Wassillie

41

37

62 inches

125 lbs

American Indian / Alaska Native

Female

In the autumn of 2020, a sense of profound loss and uncertainty befell the community of Quinhagak, a village on the coast of the Kuskokwim Bay in Alaska. Elizabeth Karen Wassillie, a 37-year-old woman, was one of seven people who vanished into the vast and unforgiving waters of the region. On October 20, 2020, the boat carrying Elizabeth and her six companions was last seen near the mouth of the Eek River. The group, which included Chad Chadwick Sr., Neal Gutleben, Alexie Nose Jr., Michael Sharp, Bernice Waska, and Wilson Wassillie, had embarked on what was understood to be a seal hunting trip, a traditional and common activity in the area. The journey that ended in their disappearance began days earlier and involved traversing the waters between several communities. The group's expedition started on October 17, 2020, when three of the individuals departed from Quinhagak in a 20-foot open-hulled aluminum skiff. They traveled to the hub city of Bethel, where they picked up Elizabeth and three others. From Bethel, the party of seven began their journey back towards the coast. Their last confirmed sighting was on October 20 in the village of Eek, where they stopped to get gas before continuing their trip. After leaving Eek, their boat was spotted for a final time near the mouth of the Eek River, a location that opens into the expansive and often treacherous Kuskokwim Bay. The party, traveling in a vessel described as a 20 or 22-foot welded aluminum boat with a Yamaha outboard motor, never reached their destination. When the group failed to arrive in Quinhagak, the Alaska State Troopers were notified on October 21, triggering an extensive search and rescue operation. The effort involved the U.S. Coast Guard, which deployed a C-130 aircraft, the Alaska State Troopers, and volunteers from Bethel Search and Rescue. Searchers in boats from the nearby communities of Quinhagak, Eek, Kongiganak, and Platinum also scoured the coastline and waterways despite challenging and increasingly cold weather. The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic placed significant constraints on the number of people who could participate in the search. After four days of intensive searching across the western coast of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and Nunivak Island, the official search was called off. Though some potential debris was located, including gas tanks and a personal flotation device, there was no definitive sign of the missing boat or its occupants. The case remains unresolved; Elizabeth Wassillie and her six companions were never found and are presumed to have been lost to the sea in a tragic accident.

Oct 20, 2020

Quinhagak

Alaska

Bethel Census Area

No

95337

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

AK20078884

2020-10-21

Alaska State Troopers

6867

Black

Brown

Brown

07/04/2026