Winter in Unalaska by Sam Zmolek
Your voice in the Aleutians.
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
The KUCB Newsroom provides newscasts Monday through Thursday at noon and 5 PM on KUCB Radio. You can find many of our local news stories here.

Search for missing Unalaska woman suspended until Tuesday morning

Unalaska Department of Public Safety

Editor’s Note: Charlene Malepeai Mamea’s remains were found and recovered Tuesday, March 21, from Unalaska Lake. Unalaskans Against Sexual Assault and Family Violence is hosting a community support gathering on Saturday, March 25, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the high school gym. More information is available here.

Updated 3/20/2023 at 5:30 p.m.

City officials have temporarily suspended the search for Charlene Malepeai Mamea — a 34-year-old Unalaska woman who’s been missing for about 27 hours — until Tuesday morning.

At 4 p.m. on Monday, Interim Fire Chief Ben Knowles said most of his staff have been searching for 18 hours or longer and that searchers need to stop, rest, and reset for their own safety before they resume in the morning.

“Fire department staff will reconvene and reevaluate what our next steps are,” said Knowles in a text message to KUCB. That will likely include “searches of outlying areas that were not originally in our initial areas of concerns."

Searchers spent Monday morning recanvassing the Dutton Road area around Malepeai Mamea’s apartment on Nirvana Hill, which they had searched Sunday night. Knowles said officials had reason to believe she was still close to home and they hoped they’d spot something during daylight hours that they had missed at night.

By Monday afternoon, Knowles said searchers had found “nothing new” in the area and were turning their attention to nearby Unalaska Lake instead.

“Based on the timeline that was given to us by family, her last known location, physical attributes, and everything that we have to go off of — it's the most likely that she is in or near the water,” Knowles said. “Unfortunately, I can't disseminate too much on why we believe that. But we do have reason to believe that we need to focus in those areas.”

Searchers deployed a remote underwater vehicle beneath the ice on the lake and conducted a search there. But Knowles said they found nothing.

Knowles said officials do not believe alcohol or drugs are involved in Malepeai Mamea’s disappearance. Deputy Police Chief Bill Simms said police do not suspect criminal involvement at this time either, but an investigation is ongoing.

Knowles thanked all of the city employees, other officials, and community volunteers who have assisted in the search so far. If more volunteers are needed Tuesday, when searching resumes, Knowles said fire officials will release a public alert letting community members know when and where they can help.

“We just appreciate all the support,” Knowles said Monday afternoon. “And we're hopeful for an outcome at this point. We just want an outcome. We want closure for that family. And so we're going to keep doing whatever we can do to help them get that.”

Knowles said Malepeai Mamea — who’s Samoan, 5’ 08”, and 280 pounds — was last seen wearing a t-shirt, dark sweatpants, and black boots with fur. She has black hair and brown eyes.

A Public Safety alert released Sunday night also described Malepeai Mamea as an "at risk" person. On Monday, Knowles declined to explain what officials meant by "at risk," but he said there is "no threat to the public."

This is a developing story.

Updated 3/20/2023 at 3 p.m. — — —

The search for a missing Unalaska woman is shifting focus from the area around Nirvana Hill to the waters of nearby Unalaska Lake.

Charlene Malepeai Mamea, 34, was last seen Sunday at 2:30 p.m. when she left home “abruptly,” Interim Fire Chief Ben Knowles said Monday around 10 a.m.

By Monday afternoon, Knowles said search parties had canvassed the area around her home on Dutton Road multiple times with “nothing new found.”

“At this point, we are going to switch to focusing a little bit more on the water,” he said. “The Harbor and Ports Department is going to be working in operation on the lake. We're going to drop a skiff, add a pole camera, and we're going to try and get some underwater views of the water to see if there's anything that we can see. And then after that, depending on the results, is when we'll make the decision to actually put divers in the water.”

Knowles said officials do not believe alcohol or drugs are involved in Malepeai Mamea’s disappearance. Reached just before 3 p.m., Deputy Police Chief Bill Simms said police do not suspect criminal involvement at this time either, but an investigation is ongoing.

Knowles declined to share details on why officials’ attention has turned to the lake.

“Based on the timeline that was given to us by family, her last known location, physical attributes, and everything that we have to go off of — it's the most likely that she is in or near the water,” he said. “Unfortunately, I can't disseminate too much on why we believe that. But we do have reason to believe that we need to focus in those areas.”

Searchers don’t know exactly how long it’ll take to conduct a grid search of the lake and decide whether to send in divers. Knowles said they’re trying to do as much work as possible before they lose daylight.

“Maybe by 5 p.m.-ish, we'll be able to make the decision on if we're going to send divers in,” he said. “I can't foresee what that pole camera’s going to put out … it's just a very fluid situation right now.”

Knowles sent community volunteers home to rest up in the afternoon, thanking them for their help during the morning ground search efforts. He also thanked Unalaskans who’ve offered inflatable boats, motors, and diving expertise.

“It means a lot to us to see everybody coming out and trying to accomplish this one goal. We appreciate all the support from city administration and all the other departments,” said Knowles. “All these different entities are all coming together. We have federal officers from NOAA here. We have the Alaska State Trooper who was on leave. He's recalled in, on his own, to come out and help. So we just appreciate all the support.

“And we're hopeful for an outcome at this point,” Knowles continued. “We just want an outcome. We want closure for that family. And so we're going to keep doing whatever we can do to help them get that.”

Knowles said Malepeai Mamea — who’s Samoan, 5’ 08”, and 280 pounds — was last seen wearing a t-shirt, dark sweatpants, and black boots with fur. She has black hair and brown eyes.

A Public Safety alert released Sunday night also described Malepeai Mamea as an "at risk" person. On Monday, Knowles declined to explain what officials meant by "at risk," but he said there is "no threat to the public."

Correction: Due to an editing error, an earlier version of the above update incorrectly stated that police do suspect criminal involvement. The update has been corrected to reflect that police do not suspect criminal involvement at this time either, but an investigation is ongoing.

This is a developing story.

Updated 3/20/2023 at 10:45 a.m. — — —

Searchers looking for a missing Unalaska woman are recanvassing the area around her apartment on Dutton Road in the Nirvana Hill neighborhood.

At a search party meeting Monday morning, Interim Fire Chief Ben Knowles said Charlene Malepeai Mamea, 34, was last seen Sunday at 2:30 p.m. when she left home “abruptly.”

Citing information from Malepeai Mamea’s family, Knowles said it’s unlikely she traveled “any significant distance” from her home and that searchers are saturating that area.

The search for Malepeai Mamea began Sunday at 7:30 p.m., with staff from Unalaska’s Fire Department and Department of Public Safety as well as about 30 civilian searchers.

Knowles said they spent Sunday night searching in the dark. He said he’s hoping that recanvassing the area during daylight hours will help advance the search for Malepeai Mamea, who’s Samoan, 5’ 08”, and 280 pounds. Knowles said she has black hair, brown eyes, and is wearing a t-shirt, dark sweatpants, and black boots with fur.

A Public Safety alert released Sunday night also described Malepeai Mamea as an "at risk" person. On Monday, Knowles declined to explain what officials mean by "at risk," but he said there is "no threat to the public."

Knowles said helicopters from a U.S. Coast Guard cutter are helping in the search, flying over the areas around Malepeai Mamea’s home as well as shorelines. Knowles said local officials have also used drones in the search.

The Fire Department is now staging search operations from the Unalaska United Methodist Church, with help from officials across city departments.

The Fire Department also invited community members to help, drawing more than 20 civilian volunteers who fanned out Monday morning wearing yellow vests and in groups led by city officials.

Knowles instructed community volunteers to dress for the weather conditions and look out for their own safety during the search. With scattered snow showers and winds around 20 miles per hour gusting up to 40, Knowles cautioned that visibility may be limited.

This is a developing story.

Updated 3/20/2023 at 9:43 a.m. — — —

A search is underway for a missing woman who was last seen Sunday at 2:30 p.m. on Unalaska's Dutton Road, which winds through the Nirvana Hill neighborhood.

Charlene Malepeai Mamea, 34, is Samoan, 5’ 08”, and 280 pounds, according to an Unalaska Department of Public Safety alert released Sunday around 10:50 p.m.

The alert said she has black hair, brown eyes, and is wearing a white t-shirt and grey sweatpants.

The alert also described Malepeai Mamea as an "at risk" person. On Monday morning, Interim Fire Chief Ben Knowles declined to explain what officials mean by "at risk," but said there is "no threat to the public."

Officials have not released any information about what Malepeai Mamea was doing before she went missing or about how the search is developing.

The Fire Department released a statement Monday inviting community members interested in helping with the search to meet at the Unalaska United Methodist Church on Monday at 10 a.m., advising volunteers to dress for the weather conditions.

Officials are asking anyone with information that could help locate Malepeai Mamea to call 911 or 907-581-1233.

This is a developing story.

Google Maps
Police say Charlene Malepeai Mamea was last seen on Dutton Road, in Unalaska's Nirvana Hill neighborhood.

Laura Kraegel reported for KUCB from 2016 until 2020. She was KUCB's news director starting in 2019. We are proud to have her back in the spring of 2023 filling in as an interim reporter for KUCB.
Sofia was born and raised in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado. She’s reported around the U.S. for local public radio stations, NPR and National Native News. Sofia has a Master of Arts in Environmental Science and Natural Resource Journalism from the University of Montana, a graduate certificate in Documentary Studies from the Salt Institute and a Bachelor of Arts in Studio Arts from the University of Colorado Boulder. In between her studies, Sofia was a ski bum in Telluride, Colorado for a few years.