Alaska State Troopers Court Services Officer Curtis Worland was killed Tuesday by a muskox, which attacked him by his home near Nome. CSO Worland was attempting to chase a group of muskox from coming into contact with a dog kennel when one of the muskox attacked him. Worland was declared deceased at the scene.
“Curtis proudly wore the Court Services Officer uniform and honorably served the people of Alaska for 13 years. He was a proud member of the Nome community and a dedicated member of the Alaska law enforcement family,” said Alaska Department of Public Safety Commissioner James Cockrell. “I hope that Alaskans will keep Curtis’ family, friends, loved ones, and the Alaska State Troopers in your thoughts as we process this tragic loss for our state. He will be sorely missed by the DPS family.”
The Alaska State Troopers, in coordination with the Alaska Wildlife Troopers and Alaska Department of Fish and Game, are investigating the incident.
CSO Worland has served as a Court Services officer since December 2009. He has worked at the Nome State Trooper post his entire career.
It was not the first time Worland had to protect his dogs from muskox. In 2020, a mature bull muskox that got into the dog yard owned by Kamey and Curtis Worland wounded one of the sled dogs. The must broke through a fence of the dog lot, which is close to the Nome-Teller Highway. That attack was discovered by an employee who came to feed the dogs, and found the bull in the dog yard. Troopers moved the dogs to safety and tried to remove the muskox, but it was uncooperative. The muskox became more and more agitated until Troopers found the only way to deal with it was to put it down. It was killed and the meat salvaged by a subsistence permit holder.
In that incident, a female dog was injured and required a medevac to Anchorage, where it underwent lifesaving surgery. Read about that incident at the Nome Nugget.
