Missing American journalist found alive in Norwegian park

UPI

2 days ago

A missing American journalist has been found alive and good health in a Norwegian park. Image courtesy of UPI
Aug. 6 (UPI) -- An American climate journalist has been found alive and in good health after going missing in a Norwegian park last week.
Alec Luhn, a reporter who has worked for the New York Times and the Atlantic and was a Russia correspondent for the Guardian from 2013 to 2017, was reported missing on Monday after he failed to catch a flight from Bergen to the U.K.
Luhn was found near Folgefonna National Park by a helicopter and has been taken for medical treatment, the Norwegian Red Cross wrote on X Wednesday.
"We are very, very happy! Many thanks to everyone in Norway who has helped to find him," Luhn's wife Veronika Silchenko told local news outlet VG by phone after he was found.
The search operation for Luhn began on Monday and was expanded by Tuesday. Ingeborg Thorsland, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Red Cross, earlier told CNN that the operation spanned a large area and that heavy rainfall had made navigation difficult.
Luhn had been on vacation with his sister in Norway, then began a four-day hike alone from the outdoor center of Ullensvang, on the northern edge of the park, a 212-square-mile wilderness in western Norway that's home to one of the country's biggest glaciers.
Drew Gaddis, Luhn's sister, confirmed in a social media post that he had been found "in overall good health" and was being taken to Bergen by helicopter. Norwegian media reported that he had injured his leg.
She thanked the Norwegian police, the staff and volunteers and the thousands of people who had helped share news of the search.
"We can breathe again!" she said.
Luhn is fit and equipped for the treacherous hike. Folgefonna, the third largest icecap in Norway, is on a peninsula famed for its fjords, mountains, rivers, lakes and icefalls. Parts are desolate and can be dangerous in bad weather.