A body found today in Trail Lake has been tentatively identified by the Alaska State Troopers as a missing canoeist from Nevada.
The body has been sent to the state medical examiner’s office in Anchorage for positive identification.
Around 9 pm on April 20 a 911 call to the Soldotna Public Safety Communications Center reported that 33 year-old Matt Asturi of Nevada had been consuming alcohol prior to going out in the canoe.
He was seen paddling the boat without a life jacket 15 minutes before the initial 911 call.
Megan Peters with the Troopers said alcohol and boating is a problem in Alaska.
Peters: “There’s a confirmed 25% of drowning/boating deaths that are related to alcohol, the number could potentially be higher but sometimes we can’t test people because they’re not found.”
Moose Pass Fire Department, Bear Creek Volunteer Fire Department and Crown Point Alaska State Troopers responded to the scene on April 20 with personnel and two boats but were unable to locate Asturi.
Search efforts continued for a week after his disappearance until being called off.
