Yolanda Nowpakahok Missing Person Case

Mar 17, 2020

Dec 29, 2021

Yolanda

Nowpakahok

32

11

60 inches

90 lbs

American Indian / Alaska Native

Female

On April 27, 2005, a deep sense of sorrow fell over the Siberian Yupik village of Gambell on St. Lawrence Island, Alaska. Eleven-year-old Yolanda Naomi Nowpakahok, a young female member of the community, was on a traditional whale hunting expedition with her family when tragedy struck. The skin-covered boat she was in, an 18-foot vessel, capsized in the frigid waters of the Bering Sea, approximately five to eight miles offshore. This devastating incident occurred in the early morning hours, around 2 a.m., while the crew was in the process of towing a harvested bowhead whale back to their village. The community, steeped in a whaling tradition that spans generations, was left in a state of shock and grief by the sudden and tragic event. The capsizing of the boat set off a desperate search and rescue effort in the dark and treacherous waters. While two crew members were pulled from the sea alive, the hope for others dwindled with each passing moment. In addition to Yolanda, her father, Jason Nowpakahok, who was the 38-year-old mayor of Gambell and the whaling captain, and her 11-year-old cousin, Leonard Nowpakahok, were also missing and feared dead. Another crew member, James Uglowook, was rescued but tragically succumbed at the village health clinic. The search for Yolanda, her father, and her cousin was extensive, involving the Coast Guard, but ultimately, no sign of the three was found in the near-freezing water. It is a common practice for whaling crews in the region not to wear flotation devices, as they can impede the strenuous work involved in the hunt, and accidents of this nature were considered rare. The loss of Yolanda, her father, and her cousin was a profound tragedy that resonated deeply throughout Gambell and the wider subsistence whaling community in Alaska. The incident was described as the worst whaling-related accident in recent memory for the region. The practice of including children in hunts is a long-standing tradition among the St. Lawrence Islanders, a way of passing down essential skills and cultural knowledge from one generation to the next. The celebration that would typically accompany a successful whale hunt was replaced by an overwhelming sense of grief for the lives lost. In the years following the incident, Yolanda Nowpakahok is still officially listed as a missing person, presumed to have drowned alongside her father and cousin in the unforgiving waters of the Bering Sea. The case remains a somber reminder of the perils faced by those who continue to practice their ancestral traditions in the challenging Alaskan environment.

Apr 27, 2005

Nome

Alaska

Nome Census Area

No

77174

Alaska State Troopers

Anchorage

Alaska

Anchorage Borough

99507

Malia Miller

Missing Persons Clearinghouse Manager

5700 East Tudor Road, Alaska

9072695511

State

Law Enforcement

050031105

2005-04-27

Alaska State Troopers

8571

Black

Brown

Brown

07/13/2026