The body of a Sand Point teenager has been recovered after almost three days of searching.
Eastern Aleutian Tribes Chief Executive Officer Paul Mueller said in a statement that a recovery dive team found 15-year-old Kaipo Kaminanga on Thursday.
Divers arrived to Sand Point from Anchorage Thursday morning to help with the recovery and to search nearby Red Cove Lake where Kaminanga was last seen. Prior to that, Sand Point Police Chief Benjamin Allen said he and volunteers had been the only ones searching.
Kaminanga went missing Monday evening. The police department began a search immediately after receiving notice of his disappearance.
According to Allen, Kaminanga and three other boys headed out on four wheelers Monday afternoon to Red Cove Lake, southwest of town. He said three of the boys, including Kaminanga, went for a ride in a canoe. The boat capsized while they were out, and Kaminanga was last seen face down in the water, he said.
The police department attempted to locate his phone by pinging the location through GCI telecommunications services, but they were only able to locate the last time Kaminanga had used the phone because the island only has access to 2G service, according to Allen.
Allen said Kaminanga’s disappearance has been hard on the Aleutian community of around 800 people. Locals have organized a GoFundMe campaign for Kaminanga’s family to help pay for the search, recovery and any future planning.
“This is a deeply difficult moment for the family, the youth involved, and the entire Sand Point community,” Mueller said in the Thursday statement. “Please take a moment to keep the family in your prayers and hold them in your thoughts as they face an unimaginable loss.”
