Search resumes for woman who went into frozen Alaska river to save her dog

Rescuers in Alaska resumed a days-long search through the partially frozen Eagle River to recover a woman, who vanished under the water over the weekend, Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team said Tuesday.

Authorities said that the rescue team is continuing the search with the assistance of the Alaska Solstice Search Dogs, a team they train and work with often.

Woman's disappearance

Alaska State Troopers said the woman, whose name has not been revealed, disappeared near North Fork Eagle River Trail, about 20 miles from downtown Anchorage, around 2:15 p.m. on Saturday. Preliminary investigation determined that the woman was walking along the trail with another man and their dogs, when one of the dogs jumped into the water and disappeared.

The couple followed the dog into the water to look for him. While searching for the animal, the woman disappeared under the water and did not resurface, said the State Trooper's dispatch.

Rescue operation

Anchorage Police were alerted of the accident, who then contacted Alaska State Troopers about the active search and rescue. A helicopter was deployed to search from the air and an Alaska Wildlife Trooper responded to assist with ground searching.

Rescue personnel conducted a thorough search of the immediate area but could not locate the woman, said the dispatch. Search efforts continued until sunset on Saturday until it became too dark to carry on.

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery said that their team "went out and assessed the site," but did not start the recovery mission due to the high risk associated with it.

The rescue resumed the next day wherein Alaska Dive Search, Rescue, and Recovery Team and Alaska Wildlife Troopers searched under the ice of Eagle River at several areas of interest during daylight hours, according to the dispatch. However, the woman was not found.

Authorities said that the woman's partner was not injured.

Saman Shafiq is a trending news reporter for USA TODAY. Reach her at sshafiq@gannett.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter @saman_shafiq7.