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Unalaska's Most Wanted

KUCB File Photo

There’s a new page on the Unalaska Department of Public Safety’s (DPS) website. It’s called Unalaska’s Most Wanted.

“Basically what’s up there right now are several people who have some significant felony crimes that they committed," said deputy police chief Jennifer Shockely. "And maybe they were never formally charged because they absconded before we were able to apprehend them or perhaps they didn’t show up for a court date. But they are people who have already been charged with crimes and for whatever reason we have not been able to keep up with them.”

She says the project is part of DPS’s effort to increase community engagement.

“Its part of kind of our ongoing project to reach out to the community a little bit more," Shockely said. "Get a little bit more engaged with the community and hopefully have the community work with us a little bit more. Maybe provide us with some information that the might not have thought important otherwise or give them a means of communicating with us outside of waiving a cop down on the side of the road.”

By Shockley’s estimate Unalaska has a couple hundred outstanding warrants and some date back decades.

What happens is, Shockley goes through the records and decides who to profile, but making the wanted list is not a simple question of "who committed the worst crime.” Although She says that is a big factor.

“Were looking for the people out there with significant felonies," Shockley said. "Particularly [felonies] against persons, where we have or at least had a victim. Those are ones that have a specific interest to us.”

The page is a work in progress, but Shockley plans to have a rotating group of profiles. There’s a ton of information online -- a picture, race, sex, height, weight, hair and eye color, as well as last known address. And so far, the page is working.

“One of the people who’s listed on Unalaska’s Most Wanted has actually contacted us to see what he needs to do to take care of his outstanding warrant,” Shockley said.

Which Shockley calls a positive impact.

“At least one person is aware that they have a warrant and two that they are taking steps to address it,” Shockley said.

If you have information on someone listed on Unalaska’s Most Wanted, please contact public safety at 907-581-1233.

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Zoë Sobel reported for KUCB from 2016 until 2019. She returned to KUCB after a year living in Nepal and Malaysia as a Luce Scholar. She then returned to KUCB as a ProPublica reporter August of 2020 through August of 2021.