"Oh my god, Jenna's kicking a**!" Bondi said as she checked Jenna's location from her phone. Outdoors she ranked first at 3200m, running 9:49.83. Alaska Public Media is our partner station in Anchorage. Two other runners sustained serious injuries in this years race. [8] I had to go down, but before I did I looked over the slide area and saw a black bear. Hours later, search and rescue teams were called onto the mountain at around 8 pm by his wife Peggy with temperatures falling and rain worsening. And the race is so risky and dangerous the whole time. The race, which is notorious for its extreme nature, covers approximately 3 miles of difficult terrain up and back down the Mount. Several years since Michael disappeared, not one piece of physical evidence has surfaced. Walsh asked LeMaitre for his bib number and he replied Five-four-eight, and as he descended back towards the town he texted race officials: Bib number 548 would be home in about an hour and a half. Brandon Lawson The 911 call that led to a mysterious disappearance. Thats one of my fears, that if Im not looking, no ones looking. No sign of LeMaitre has been found. She maintained a 4.0 Grade Point Average at the school. And then also, Michael LeMaitre had not been up and down the course ever before he raced. I guess I always thought this was a process that only happened after several years, or when concrete evidence supporting the missing person is deceased surfaced. Iraq war veteran and Blackhawk pilot Penny Assman slid over a cliff, lacerating her liver and breaking several ribs; an Alaskan runner named Matthew Kenney fell at the same spot and suffered broken legs and brain damage. All rights reserved. The most puzzling casualty, however, was 66-year-old Anchorage resident Michael LeMaitre, who vanished without a trace on his way up the mountain and is believed to be the first fatality in the races history. not a marathon, definitely intense! What happened to LeMaitre? The body of the 61-year-old, who had been missing since Saturday, was recovered on Tuesday near the summit of Mount Clark, the National Park Service said. I have a friend from Seward. She was never found and remains among the missing in the area. I think there was a healthy debate about how is this race unsafe, and they added some pretty sound safety measures, it sounds like. The following transcript was lightly edited for clarity. Marathoner Goes Missing On Weekend Hike At Yosemite National Park Human remains found near Seward likely not those of missing Mount Michael was said to be adventurous and believed he had won the lottery by getting entry into the Mount Marathon race. After the official searches were called off, she spent over a month walking the mountain and looking for signs. The following transcript was lightly edited for clarity. Family losing hope of finding missing runner on Mount Marathon But crews found no sign of LeMaitre. Yeaton has been nursing an. Nine years on, what happened to LeMaitre is still a mystery. While injuries are common and expected, LeMaitre's case was unprecedented. An old kayak missing from the yard at Miller's Landing, a resort at the end of the road, led to speculation she might have paddled off into Resurrection Bay, but she could just as easily headed down the trail to Tonsina Creek. He was never seen again and his body was never located despite extensive searching. Crom, meanwhile, told the newspaper its unclear whether he summited Mount Clark prior to his death, but said park rangers would likely check a log book near the peak. Before joining the ADN in 2012, she worked at daily newspapers up and down the West Coast and earned a master's degree from the University of Oregon. Missing Florida mother found deceased in Alabama, Where is 4-year-old Codi Bigsby, missing from Hampton, VA, Ill either see you again or never see you again The Disappearance of Daniel Robinson, Destiny Jacksons body was found in the Las Vegas desert after she was killed during a car jacking, Spooky Houses youll be DYING to stay far away from, Suzanne Morphew (49) has been missing since May 10th, 2020 her husband has been arrested, FOUND SAFE- Laura Lacie Read- missing from Midtown, Houston, after her child is found alone, Dr. Beth Potter, her husband, Robin Carre were killed and found in a ditch, Missing Child Alert: Taylor Rose Williams (5) is missing from Jacksonville, Florida. Youve heard of Tough Mudder and the Spartan Race, but every Fourth of July, the town of Seward, Alaska, hosts a competition that rivals both. LISTEN: How did this Anchorage runner go missing in a popular mountain There was an extensive search, his bereaved family also continued to search. LeMaitres story attracted widespread media attention, becoming one of the most well-known in a grimly extensive list of Alaskans whove disappeared into wilderness landscapes without a trace. I know its fascinating to me, the overwhelming scale and power of the wilderness and how close we live to it and how close we all tried that line. Many People Still Missing in Alaska - Midland Daily News Tim Lebling, warned the racers at the pre-race safety talk, If you have not been up that mountain before, you should consider going home right now, and you should not be in the race. But, LeMaitre was undeterred. A team of up to 60 searchers scoured the mountain, looking everywhere, even the other side, away from the race course. Im never going to be a professional runner, and Im never going to be a racecar driver or a rodeo person, but this is my chance to push that edge. Vanished: Heidi Broussard (33) and Margot Carey (2wks). But he hadnt been on the mountain before.. His disappearance was especially striking because he had been participating in an event that each year draws tens of thousands of spectators to Seward, and hundreds of runners onto the mountain itself. Im still very curious to have someone go out there and checkhis body could be there. He is the races first fatality since it began in 1915. Grove:What do you think this story tells people about Alaska or about what happened to this guy? We've received your submission. The red lantern in the race from downtown Seward to Race Point high up on Mount Marathon and then back, LeMaitre was last seen just a few hundred feet below the point in 2012. The missing in Alaska - Craig Medred Learn how your comment data is processed. I know its fascinating to me, the overwhelming scale and power of the wilderness and how close we live to it and how close we all tried that line. Fred Zalokar, Marathoner Who Took On Mountains, Is Found Dead in Every Mount Marathon rookie is required to watch a graphic safety video the night before the race. By the end of the day, two were in the hospital with serious injuries and one had vanished. No clothing has been spotted and no human remains have been discovered . You know, a lot of people kept saying, you need some sort of closure. What do you want to know or want us to investigate about life in Alaska, stories behind the news or why things are the way they are? [3][4] Hutchins is an accomplished violinist and has volunteered locally as a youth running coach and at the Johnson City Public Library. The 73-year-old man, whose name was not released by police, fell 361 feet during a hike on Jenner Mountain at the northern end of Konigsee Lake in Bavaria, Germany, at around 2:30 p.m. on July 3.. MOVING FORWARDThe community of Seward was hit hard. Is there a serial killer in Austin, Texas? A Reno trail runner who went missing over the weekend in Yosemite has been found dead. Army grounds aviators for training after fatal crashes in Alaska and Kentucky, How do electric vehicles perform in Alaska? Photo by Carol Grisswold. Or remains need to be found.. And now, if you do Mount Marathon, you have to attest publicly, you have to sign something like in a public room full of other racers that says that you have been up and down the whole course. Oquilluk, 38-years-old at the . Ipsen said troopers don't yet know if the jawbone found in the mountains belongs to a man or a woman. AFTER THE RACEOn July 5th, MaryAnne LeMaitre boarded a plane in Salt Lake City and went to Seward to look for her dad. Next was the womens race, and it was a pleasant temperature, in the low 60s, with a little bit of fog blowing in and out in strips. In February, she finished 4th in the Millrose Games indoor mile, setting a state indoor record at 15-years-old. Race organisers take no responsibility for Michaels disappearance: Race volunteers spoke with Mr. LeMaitre as he was approaching the turnaround point and let him know the race was over, the statement said. Runners from around the world join Alaskans in pursuit of a common goal: to safely complete this iconic footrace, whether on the podium or in the pack. So hes been legally dead for almost nine years now. CBS News Bay Area: Free 24/7 News CBS Bay Area App Race organizers instituted a number of new safety measures in 2013, including mandatory signed statements from runners that theyve completed training runs on the course, a one-hour time limit for racers to reach the summit, and sweeps of the mountain by volunteers after each wave of the race. Mount Marathon Is the Toughest 5K on the Planet - Outside Online Missing on Mount Marathon Michael LeMaitre. Jenna Hutchins - Wikipedia Correction: The photo caption on this story has been updated to correct the year Michael LeMaitre went missing to 2012. Download the app. While running the Mount Marathon race in Alaska, Michael LeMaitre disappeared. Paul Michael LeMaitre, disappeared July 4, 2012, Mount Marathon, Seward, Alaska. We spoke separately to Karol Fink, a Mount Marathon organizer and 19-year race veteran who ran this year, and to MaryAnne LeMaitre, whose father has yet to be found. Her husband of 43 years, Michael LeMaitre, was last seen on July 4, about 200 feet from the top of Mount Marathon in Seward, south of Anchorage. Jenna Hutchins (born March 25, 2004), is a high school and "Under 20" record-breaking American long distance runner from Johnson City, Tennessee. I think that vastness and the proximity of that vastness to town and to thousands of people and spectators, that you could be gone without a trace while there are hundreds of runners and thousands of spectators, like a mile less than a mile away from you, is just a reminder for Alaskans of that very thin line we live in between our little patches of town and kind of infinite wilderness and the dangers of that. Missing trail runner found dead in Yosemite - The Mercury News Alaska family loses hope on finding missing runner alive This year, it had rained the night before, so it made the race really slick and muddy for the juniors. No trail, an Alaska State Troopers spokeswoman said at the time. Casey Grove:And you took these questions back to the authorities. And that question has not been answered. Where to watch . This article originally appeared in our October, 2012 issue. The next morning, July 5, the 210th Rescue Squadron of the Alaska Air National Guard, which specializes in searching for crashed pilots and missing hikers, arrived with its HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter for another infrared scan. He says a smaller field could prevent the already precarious course from becoming overcrowded and compromising runners ability to choose the safest path down the mountain. Curious Alaska: What happened to the man who went missing running Mount Missing From Alaska's Mount Marathon - Trail Runner Magazine Earlier last week . It was rainy, but it didnt sound like it was raining all the time. The race had no official cutoff time, and since the mountain is open to the public for hiking, LeMaitre was allowed to continue. Wife of missing Mount Marathon runner sues chamber Jenna Leigh Challenor (born 6 July 1981) is a South African long-distance runner.She competed in the marathon event at the 2017 World Championships in Athletics in London, UK, finishing 59th.. Jenna Mulhern Drops 12th Fastest 5K In High School History. Our condolences to his family and friends.. Later in that year of 2012, he was declared legally dead through a court proceeding called a presumed death trial, which is a way for families whove lost someone in a fishing boat accident or a plane crash, where remains are not going to be recoverable to have their loved one legally declared deceased so they can move on with settling estates and insurance and things like that. Records fell at the annual Mount Marathon Race in Seward on Monday. Going off in the wrong direction, falling off, landslides, bear activitythere are so many things that could have happened and just nothing to go on. And that question has not been answered. Mountain climber and marathoner Fred Zalokar, 61, found dead in Yosemite She ranked within the global top 100 for 5000 metres athletes in 2020. Join Outside+ to get Outside magazine, access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and more. -, http://rw.runnersworld.com/selects/last-man-up.html. Curious Alaska: What happened to the man who went missing running Mount The incidents left Seward struggling to understand how a runner could disappear on a course thats only a few miles long. Michaels daughter, MaryAnne said My dadhe has always had an adventurous spirit: He did the Iditaski several times; he had a lot of exciting adventures on the water. LeMaitre never came down. LeMaitre was declared legally dead in October 2012 after a court proceeding known as a presumed death trial. Zalokar, of Reno, Nevada, was reported missing late Sunday after not returning to Yosemite Valley from his solo trip as planned. The mens race was also foggy, but the trail had dried some. disappeared during the Mount Marathon Race. (Photo by Luke Rosier). But there was no sign of Michael. [6], During her sophomore year in 20182019, she won the Tennessee Gatorade Female Track & Field Player of the Year award, earning her the opportunity as a part of Gatorade's "Play it Forward cause marketing platform," to award a $1,000 grant to her choice of a local or national youth sports organization, and duplicated the honors in 2020 and 2021. The top finishers are under 45 minutes. Thats when Anchorage resident Michael LeMaitre went missing while running the race, never to be seen again. He could have been buried under the snow. Theriault Boots: I think its the same intrigue that makes people going missing in Alaska so fascinating for some people, because its just the vastness of the wilderness. So hes been legally dead for almost nine years now. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. July 9, 2021 by Casey Grove, Alaska Public Media. Missing on Mount Marathon - Michael LeMaitre - True Crime Society Box 2530 :: Billings, MT 59103 406-255-8488 2023 Montana Women's Run. But I think theres a lot of people who still very much want to know what happened to Michael LeMaitre.