Army
Alaska Army National Guard rescues family stranded during storm
Stars and Stripes
July 2, 2025
Alaska Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 3 Nick Lime, an aviator assigned to 207th Aviation Battalion, assists six distressed people stranded on the Kuskokwim River during a rescue mission June 30, 2025. (Bryan Kruse/Alaska National Guard)
After 30 minutes of searching through pouring rain, fog and 45 mph wind gusts, Alaska Army National Guard aviators found the family stranded for nearly 24 hours on the Kuskokwim River in Alaska.
The aviators rescued the family of six, including an elderly woman and child, near Tuntutuliak on Monday, according to a National Guard news release.
The 207th Aviation Battalion sent a UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter from the armory in Bethel and flew 25 miles until they located the family and brought them to safety.
“We were able to get them out of there at an ideal time,” Chief Warrant Officer 3 Nick Lime said.
The family was able to call Alaska State Troopers — who requested assistance — before their phones died at around noon that day. High wind and rough water prevented community efforts to reach them by river.
“We could tell that the group hadn’t anticipated being stranded for that amount of time with the clothes and gear they were wearing,” Lime said.
Lime and AST Trooper Trevor Norris waded through nearly 4 feet of water. Lime said he had to lift the most elderly woman — who could barely move because of exposure to the elements — into the aircraft.
The crew rendered in-flight rewarming care to the patients, who were close to hypothermic, with blankets and flew them to the Bethel Armory. Twelve volunteers from the Bethel Fire Department with three ambulances were waiting to transport the family to Yukon-Kuskokwim Regional Hospital.
“This effort really reinforces the relationships that we have with our local community here,” Chief Warrant Officer 3 Bryan Kruse said. “The controllers did a great job at clearing the airspace for us on the way back, so we could get these patients back safely.”
The Alaska Army National Guard frequently supports emergency response operations across the state in partnership with the Alaska State Troopers, Alaska Rescue Coordination Center and local agencies.
The Bethel-based Black Hawk crew often supports emergency services that are not often available in Western Alaska, where no roads connect to rural communities.
“We’re extremely proud of our execution during missions like this,” Kruse said. “With all the capabilities we have at our disposal, it could not have gone better. We do the best with what we’ve got.”