'I just want them out': Search to resume for 2 men lost in Susitna River
The incident occurred the morning of March 6 as a five-man work crew including 32-year-old Wasilla resident Skye Rench and 42-year-old Anchorage resident Sean Kendall rode from a remote job site to Point MacKenzie.
Alaska State Troopers said the six-seat Polaris Ranger utility vehicle broke through the ice at the confluence of Fish Creek and the Susitna River. Rench and Kendall were swept under. The three others were able to walk back to a work camp.
The men were working for Alaska Directional LLC, a Palmer-based company. The job was part of a Matanuska Telecom Association project installing an underground fiber-optic cable to bring high-speed internet to Beluga and Tyonek, according to a state permit.
The Alaska Occupational Safety and Health section last month said it was investigating the incident. The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating, a spokesperson said this week.
Alaska Directional issued a statement this week saying the company prioritizes employee and partner safety and is "fully cooperating" with the investigation.
"Alaska Directional is profoundly saddened by this tragic incident. Our deepest sympathies go out to the families, loved ones, and colleagues of those affected," the statement said. "We are grateful for the efforts of everyone involved in the response and for the overwhelming support from the community."
Alaska State Troopers looked for Rench and Kendall for two days before transitioning to a "reactive" search, meaning the agency would deploy resources if new leads emerged.
Rench's father, Thomas Rench, mounted his own search last month and said he got no outside help. He's been out to the site three times and plans to return this weekend.
"What I live on right now, I haven't even taken time to grieve," Rench said. "I understand that I'll never see him again, but I've got a job to do."
Stacey Calder, Rench's mother, this week said troopers told her they flew over the area on Monday. Calder said the ice at the confluence with Fish Creek is fairly broken up, but just downriver the ice is holding.
"I just want the men out of that water," she said in an interview. "I just want them out. It terrifies me that they're still in there."
Troopers conducted multiple flights over the area where the men disappeared to assess ice conditions, including one this week, according to spokesperson Tess Williams.
Troopers plan to deploy the Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team when conditions improve, Williams said.
The nonprofit dive team is activated by the Alaska Department of Public Safety for water-related emergencies around the state.
A team member flew the Susitna River between Deshka Landing and Cook Inlet on Monday, according to a post Wednesday on the group's Facebook page. Several people have sent videos and photos of the area over the last few days.
Breakup is "finally starting" on the river but it is progressing slowly, the team said. Once the ice clears, the team will be able to use a boat to search areas they couldn't access due to "very poor ice" over moving water and the lack of a defined search area due to snow and ice covering river channels, the post said.
"It is extremely hard to wait to begin a search for loved ones, not only for the family and friends but also for the searchers," it said. "But some times it is necessary to keep another family from experiencing the same tragedy."
A representative of the Kendall family said they are grateful for the attention being given to the recovery efforts and the mission to bring both men out.
Hundreds attended separate memorial ceremonies held last month.
Kendall grew up in Anchorage with two brothers and a sister, all graduates of West High School. He has a 16-year-old son. Rench grew up in Mat-Su and graduated from Colony High School.
Both had extensive experience in the Alaska outdoors. Rench ran the Iron Dog snowmachine race for the first time in February.
He told his fiance he was concerned about making the trip out on March 6, Calder said. It had rained hard the night before.
"He told me that he felt that they should have been using snowmachines," she said. "He knows how to skip snowmachines."
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