Alaska State Troopers were notified of an overdue deer hunter in the Sitka area on Oct. 29. Alaska Wildlife Troopers, USCG, and Sitka SAR, conducted land-based searches on Wednesday, with three search teams combing in the remote wooded area that they reached with the help of a state trooper vessel and Sitka search-and-rescue vessel.
By 11:30 a.m. Wednesday, the remains 50-year-old Tad Fujioka of Sitka were found near a deer carcass. Investigation revealed he was the likely victim of a fatal bear mauling.
Fujioka, who was a salmon troller, was chairman of the Board of Directors of Seafood Producers Cooperative and was active in advocacy for the troll fishery in Southeast Alaska. He was also a parent.
When will people learn You do NOT go in the woods alone in Alaska
That’s a personal choice and we all know the potential consequence. Some of us are not afraid to live in this wonderful place. Just stay in your safe room and be happy sport.
I am sorry to learn of this bear-attack fatality. Apparently I have much to learn about the absolute primacy of safety, even at my old age, because I frequently go into the wilderness alone for hikes and hunts.
Terrible hazards are all around us, friend, and no more so than in cities and on the roadways. I can relate to anyone my several and severe experiences of having had two of Anchorage’s drunk drivers run into my vehicles – both were hit-and-runs, with injuries in my vehicles.
It might be riskier for some to venture alone into the wilderness, but the solo adventurer simply needs to start off well-prepared, to have a keen awareness of his surroundings, to possess the knowledge, tools and skills for wilderness survival (a firearm, certainly), and finally to exercise due caution. Remaining ‘safely’ at home because one cannot find a wilderness companion was not the practice of Daniel Boone and John Colter, nor is it mine.