The body of a Kentucky physician who vanished after leaving a cruise ship to go hiking has been found, authorities say.
Dr. Marites Buenafe’s body was located just before midday Thursday by an Alaska Army National Guard helicopter, two days after she failed to return to the Norwegian Bliss during its stop at Juneau.
The 62-year-old Lexington native was reported missing at around 3.20 p.m. on Tuesday having missed the ship’s 1:30 p.m. departure time, Alaska State Troopers said.
The physician, who worked at University of Kentucky Healthcare and had been in practice for more than two decades, was reported on the trip with two family members.
The morning she went missing, Dr. Buenafe texted her family that she had planned to hike a popular trail from the Gold Ridge to Gastineau Peak, according to authorities.
Melody Buenafe, Dr. Buenafe’s sister, wrote on Facebook Wednesday morning that she had last received a text from her sibling at 7.35 a.m. and knew the cruise’s departure time.
“No answers to our numerous texts and phone calls,” she added. Melody said she and her mother flew back to Juneau after the ship set sail again at 1.45 p.m.
Officials said Dr. Marites was last seen on surveillance footage at 7.30 a.m. Tuesday at the top of the Mount Roberts Tramway, a well-known spot providing views of Juneau and the Gastineau Channel.
Three stills from the security footage shared by Melody showed her sister wearing a dark pair of trousers and jacket, a spotted navy bandana and a maroon backpack.
Search and rescue teams deployed dogs, drones and helicopters before her body was found 1,700 feet below the ridge line of Gold Ridge on Thursday morning, Alaska Department of Public Safety spokesperson Austin McDaniel said.
“Troopers and Juneau Mountain Rescue were able to recover her body with the assistance of Temsco Helicopters and the National Guard,” state troopers said in a statement Thursday evening.
The search had concentrated in the mountains just south of downtown Juneau, an area McDaniel said was not especially remote.
Overcast and rainy weather late Wednesday had limited the number of aerial searches.
Dr. Buenafe’s family has been notified and her body was due to be sent to the state medical examiner’s office for autopsy, officials said. The cause of her death was not immediately clear.
Juneau is a popular cruise ship destination, with visitors often staying close to the developed area that includes the tram. There are still areas of snow on the local peaks.
McDaniel said that visitors who hiked the well-trodden trail from Gold Ridge to Gastineau Peak are encouraged to become familiar with the area and pack extra clothes, food and water.
“Trips into Alaska’s backcountry can go from expected easy day trips to very challenging with one wrong step or fall,” McDaniel cautioned.
