Tragic Alaskan death circa 1991

[L00k4ward]

Originally Posted by Sand&Salt

Dang. The site won't let me read the article. So are you saying the "torn-apart" report in the news was not true? This was in the Denver Post.

“The primary source for the legend of Anchorage’s deadly mud flats is Roger Cashin. According to the contemporary Anchorage Daily Times coverage, on Sept. 17, 1961, the 33-year-old soldier walked onto the Palmer Slough flats south of Wasilla with three soldier buddies. Cashin walked a little too close to the water and began to sink.”

The others laughed not realizing the predicament the soldier was in (specific angular shape soil’s silt particles which lock together and hold on to person)

Eventually, the help was called after series of mishaps when the helicopter went to the wrong site -but it was too late - they were not able to pull him out before the tide came.

“The day after Cashin’s death, a helicopter attempted to lift the body out, but the cable snapped. The day after that, army engineers built a platform out to the body and recovered it “in a manner best not described here,” according to the Times. Cashin’s story, including the snapped cable and mangled corpse, is the primary source for local mudflat legends.‘