Body found in river at Bethel; identification pending

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Police in Bethel say the body of a man was found in the Kuskokwim River below the Crowley fuel dock.

The Anchorage Daily News reports boaters found the body shortly before 1:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Bethel Police Chief Burke Waldron says the body was floating near the shoreline. The remains have been transported to the state medical examiner for positive identification.

Waldron says police believe they know who the man is and officers have contacted the family.

A 43-year-old man from Napaskiak, Paul Kaganak, has been missing since May 18. Police suspected he fell from a skiff but a river search did not find him.

A 28-year-old Akiak man, Stacey Hoagland Jr., disappeared in September from a boat that witnesses said capsized. He has not been found.
—
Information from: Anchorage Daily News, http://www.adn.com