Ravens. 65-year-old Michael LeMaitre was competing in the Mount Marathon race in Seward, Alaska, which is south of the city of Anchorage. He was seen near the ascent and with only 1.5 miles to go, downhill. MaryAnne walked the mountain for weeks, looking for her dad. Thats one of my fears, that if Im not looking, no ones looking. He had already navigated the most dangerous parts of the course. Its not like climbingthere is no rating system for this. The last photo taken of him was near this location. On July 4, 2012, an Anchorage man named Michael LeMaitre went missing as he competed in Mount Marathon, the grueling Seward footrace typically held on the Fourth of July each year. Its not uncommon for racers to be injured, running to the top of 3,022-foot Mount Marathon and back down again. Participants who dont make it a halfway-point within one hour are disqualified, and race sweepers now follow the last runner to the top of the mountain and back down, said race director Matias Saari. It was about 8 p.m. local time on July 4 when Seward, Alaskas Fire Department received word that 66-year-old Michael LeMaitre of Anchorage, was missing. Iraq war veteran and Blackhawk pilot Penny Assman slid over a cliff, lacerating her liver and breaking several ribs; an Alaskan runner named Matthew Kenney fell at the same spot and suffered broken legs and brain damage. Karol Fink: Its a bit mysteriousthe feel of it. [4], Hutchins was named the 20192020 Tennessee Girls Cross Country Gatorade Player of the Year, winning the Footlocker South Regional Cross Country Championships in 16:54,[5] She was ranked 9th in the nation at the mile, with a time of 4:43.33, and fifth at two miles, in 10:25.01. It's not uncommon for racers to be injured, running to the. Usually by the time of race day, the water hasnt dried up, so you have to know what youre doing because its very steep and you can fall off. Though declared legally dead for about nine years, LeMaitre is still considered a missing person by Alaska State Troopers. Brandon Lawson The 911 call that led to a mysterious disappearance. He never showed up. Or Hospital Scapegoat? [The race] was never meant to be a fundraiser for the chamber, he wrote. The race had no official cutoff time, and since the mountain is open to the public for hiking, LeMaitre was allowed to continue. He was apparently fit and healthy, having been a regular visitor to the gym and had finished a 12K event a month earlier, but despite the warning, he had never visited the course and he chose to continue. KTOO collaborates with partners across the state to cover important news and to share stories with our audiences. At 11 a.m., nearly 350 women gathered behind the start line. Michael was said to be adventurous and believed he had won the lottery by getting entry into the Mount Marathon race. The volunteers, who had been on the mountain for 10 hours, had completed their duty and were descending when they encountered LeMaitre, who was in last place, just approaching the mountains summit. Our condolences to his family and friends.. The mountain is always there. What happened this yearit was quite devastating for the community. She was never found and remains among the missing in the area. And the race is so risky and dangerous the whole time. Oquilluk, 38-years-old at the . He was very adventurous. He is the races first fatality since it began in 1915. Runners from around the world join Alaskans in pursuit of a common goal: to safely complete this iconic footrace, whether on the podium or in the pack. Fred would be the one to climb up on the technical part and throw a rope down to the rest of us, Sean Crom told the newspaper of Zalokar, whom he met while training for a 100-mile ultramarathon decades earlier. They moved to Pflugerville, Texas when she was ten years old, staying a few years, after her father got a work promotion. Additional age group awards will be given by RRCA! There hasnt been any wish to change things unless its a safety concern. The race starts in Molt, MT at the Community Center. [8], Before injury shortened her season, Jenna posted nation-leading times in the 1600 (4:44.13) and 3200 meters (9:52.33) and lowered her own Science High 800 meter record to 2:13.65. (Photo by Luke Rosier). "She has a great work ethic," said Frankie Nunn, head coach of Tennessee High. When the competitive men come down from the top of the mountain to the bottom, theyre descending over 3,000 feet in about five minutes. That means one of every 161 people goes missing in the . When you get to the top, most racers go around. Despite speculation about whether the remains might belong to LeMaitre, DNA testing found they instead belonged to a 39-year-old man whose last address was in Arkansas, troopers said. Language links are at the top of the page across from the title. Fred always signs into the log book, Crom said. But most accidents happen on the way down. This year, the weather was good enough to fly in aid station water by helicopter, but you cant always bank on it. And then also, Michael LeMaitre had not been up and down the course ever before he raced. Lucy Letby- Killer Nurse? Michael LeMaitre (66) disappeared on his way up the mountain and remains missing to this day. Footlocker national cross country championship race, Jenna Hutchins Talks One Last Race, XC And The Maze Runner, SCIENCE HILL HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-ATHLETE NAMED GATORADE TENNESSEE GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY RUNNER OF THE YEAR, Science Hill distance star Jenna Hutchins NET female athlete of the year, Science Hills Hutchins leaves larger-than-life mark on area running, 20192020 TENNESSEE GIRLS CROSS COUNTRY PLAYER OF THE YEAR, A run of success: victories, records and awards piling up for Hutchins, Jenna Hutchins Emerges As The Fastest HS 5000 Runner Ever, Jenna Hutchins Adds to Her Record Collection, Breaking the U20 5K Record, Hutchins, Moore earn USATF Athlete of the Week honors, Video Jenna Hutchins BREAKS the Girl's Highschool and U20 5k record + Interview 15:34.47, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Jenna_Hutchins&oldid=1091711455, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 5 June 2022, at 22:16. Race organisers take no responsibility for Michaels disappearance: Race volunteers spoke with Mr. LeMaitre as he was approaching the turnaround point and let him know the race was over, the statement said. But theres also a trail that continues, and it would have been very easy for him to keep going on that trail. Thats the reality of it. S1, Ep7. An Instagram murder - Brandon Clark and Bianca Devins, Gannon Stauch Murder Trial - Daily Updates, Jenna Van Gelderen and the missing Egyptian tapestry, The Missing, Murdered and Reunited of Runaway Train, UPDATE: 11 year old Gannon Stauch missing from Colorado Springs - remains have been found in Florida, The Ultimate Guide to the Lori Vallow and Chad Daybell case. 2023 Anchorage Daily News. 2023 NYP Holdings, Inc. All Rights Reserved, Miracle in ice: Indian mountain climber found alive days after falling into crevasse, Famed Irish mountain climber dies descending from peak in Nepal, Triple-amputee soldier climbs Kilimanjaro to deliver a burger, Lost a dear friend: Adventurer crushed to death saving climber after huge ice column splits. LeMaitre: I was told it was overcast. She focuses on in-depth stories about the intersection of public policy and Alaskans' lives. I hope with the foliage being goneit had been super thick when I was therethat we can start looking again. Youre going on this trail in the trees and the brush. This year, it had rained the night before, so it made the race really slick and muddy for the juniors. Craig Medred is a former writer for the Anchorage Daily News, Alaska Dispatch and Alaska Dispatch News. Fink: We expect changes after this year, but you need to strike a balance. It's been a tough past year navigating the pandemic, and. It was about 8 p.m. local time on July 4 when Seward, Alaska's Fire Department received word that 66-year-old Michael LeMaitre of Anchorage, was missing. Its dangerous, so youre not only competing against other people on the mountain, but youre competing to get across the finish line healthy and safe. If my dad had fallen in one of those chutes and a snow bridge had collapsed over him, the infrared helicopters wouldnt have been able to find him. Contact Craig Medred at craig(at)alaskadispatch.com. I would say you should run this a dozen times before youre ready to compete in it. We've received your submission. The crowd cheered when Matt Novakovich won the 3.5-mile race in less than 45 minutes . Searches in the difficult terrain have failed to locate any signs of him. Members get 15+ publications right in your pocket. Curious Alaska is a weekly feature powered by your questions. [13] That mark was the fastest girls' U18 time in the world in 2020. Over the next several days, the search parties grew to almost 70 people, according to Seward Fire Chief David Squires, and included helicopters, technically trained volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group, dogs and support from the Alaska Air National Guard. Im surprised that for such a technical race they didnt already have anyone sweeping at the end, but maybe this isnt as common for trail races as I believed them to be. The 2012 race saw broken bones and lacerations for some competitors. His wife Peggy claimed negligence by race officials. Then you drop into a creek bed. 65-year-old Michael LeMaitre was competing in the Mount Marathon race in Seward, Alaska, which is south of the city of Anchorage. [Sign up for Alaska Public Medias daily newsletter to get our top stories delivered to your inbox.]. Missing Florida mother found deceased in Alabama, Where is 4-year-old Codi Bigsby, missing from Hampton, VA, Ill either see you again or never see you again The Disappearance of Daniel Robinson, Destiny Jacksons body was found in the Las Vegas desert after she was killed during a car jacking, Spooky Houses youll be DYING to stay far away from, Suzanne Morphew (49) has been missing since May 10th, 2020 her husband has been arrested, FOUND SAFE- Laura Lacie Read- missing from Midtown, Houston, after her child is found alone, Dr. Beth Potter, her husband, Robin Carre were killed and found in a ditch, Missing Child Alert: Taylor Rose Williams (5) is missing from Jacksonville, Florida. Then participants go downhill over snowfields and rock fields,waterfalls and crags until they reach the finish line, back on the streets of Seward. No trace. After a while, its like, maybe we should poke around in the bear scat. Now its 40% of samples. It does get a bit grim. Once competitors have reached the summit, the faster ones can make it back down to the ground in under ten minutes. Heading out the door? Grove:What do you think this story tells people about Alaska or about what happened to this guy? And that question has not been answered. But there was no sign of Michael. The mystery of what happened to LeMaitre is the subject ofthe Anchorage Daily News Curious Alaska columnthis week. He was last seen at about 6pm by an official who was heading down the mountain. [12] She was ranked third indoors in the U.S. at 1600m, running 4:48.10, fifth in the mile at 4:45.12, and 5th at 1500m at 4:26.77. Peggy LeMaitre is no longer holding out hope that her husband is still alive five weeks and multiple searches after he vanished without a trace while running in the popular extreme race. Its in your mind every single day. I think that vastness and the proximity of that vastness to town and to thousands of people and spectators, that you could be gone without a trace while there are hundreds of runners and thousands of spectators, like a mile less than a mile away from you, is just a reminder for Alaskans of that very thin line we live in between our little patches of town and kind of infinite wilderness and the dangers of that. They show crashes, people on backboards and lots of blood.. Michael LeMaitre, a 66-year-old rookie Mount Marathon racer, was last seen about 200 feet from the top of the mountain and has been missing ever since. From the picture that I saw of him at halfway, he didnt have water in his hand. Fink: A few minutes down, theres Denali Falls; it has a 10-foot drop. This article originally appeared in our October, 2012 issue. Park officials did not indicate how he died, but a friend told the New York Times Thursday he had fallen. 21, 2019 at 7:04 PM PDT. Mt. Crom, meanwhile, told the newspaper its unclear whether he summited Mount Clark prior to his death, but said park rangers would likely check a log book near the peak. Michael LeMaitre could have taken just a few wrong turns, and then very quickly was in the thousands and thousands of impenetrable, mountainous wilderness in the Kenai mountains. Correction: The photo caption on this story has been updated to correct the year Michael LeMaitre went missing to 2012. They did not perceive that he was in any danger, says Clock. | Alaska Insight, Litter of wolverine kits brings adorable triple threat to Alaska Zoo. So that I think is discouraging of people who are going to be taking four or five, six hours much longer to complete the race. The red lantern in the race from downtown Seward to Race Point high up on Mount Marathon and then back, LeMaitre was last seen just a few hundred feet below the point in 2012. . The junior trail is probably the safest of the threebut its dangerous as well, just cut into the side of the mountain, very steep and narrowtrees, roots to negotiate, and it gets very slick. 4.2 (8) Rate. Im never going to be a professional runner, and Im never going to be a racecar driver or a rodeo person, but this is my chance to push that edge. In February, she finished 4th in the Millrose Games indoor mile, setting a state indoor record at 15-years-old. People choose their own route on the mountain, and you cant babysit everyone. The Mount Marathon Race in Seward took place Wednesday, after a year off due to the pandemic, without reports of any major trouble. See also. No additional information is available. A subreddit dedicated to the unresolved mysteries of the world. Its just on the minds of everybody. Michaels eyesight was failing but he thought he was capable enough to finish the race. Distance runner Sarah Thomson has been found safe and well after she went missing at the weekend. Law enforcement has to place eyes on him, alive and well, McDaniel said. Marathon. . The senior went 16:07.50 for 5,000 meters at in the open section of the event at the Penn Relays.. The trail is slippery, almost straight up in places, and treacherous at best. I have a friend from Seward. Miller is among 3,988 people reported missing in Alaska in 2002 and one of the 217 who remain missing, according to Alaska State Troopers. Echard says this years race highlighted the need to shrink the field. The partial jawbone in. LeMaitre never came down. I know its fascinating to me, the overwhelming scale and power of the wilderness and how close we live to it and how close we all tried that line. Prior to the race this year, former race director Chuck Echard had written a letter to the Seward Phoenix Log expressing his opinion that the race field should be decreasedthe event, he contended, wasnt for everyone. Missing in Alaska (2015) Mystery, Reality show | United States. Weve never had anything this severe. Read this article on the new Outside+ app available now on iOS devices for members! A member of the LeMaitre family said Alaska State Troopers told him it did not appear the partial human jawbone found in the mountains above Tonsina Point south of the city belongs to the 65-year-old who disappeared during the Mount Marathon Race on July 4, 2012. Tim Lebling, warned the racers at the pre-race safety talk, If you have not been up that mountain before, you should consider going home right now, and you should not be in the race. But, LeMaitre was undeterred. Join Outside+ to get Outside magazine, access to exclusive content, 1,000s of training plans, and more. Get notifications about news related to the topics you care about. disappeared during the Mount Marathon Race. So hes been legally dead for almost nine years now. As of August 2019, no trace of Michael has been found. It was especially rainy, foggy and slick that day. The serious risk of major injury or death is why the event isn't open to just anyone. If you would be willing to assist in the search for Michael LeMaitre, please contact the Seward Volunteer Fire Department via their webpage. After that point, he never returned. Michaels daughter, MaryAnne said My dadhe has always had an adventurous spirit: He did the Iditaski several times; he had a lot of exciting adventures on the water. Perhaps he fell off a cliff or fell into a crevice never to be seen again? Four days after LeMaitre disappeared, the official rescue attempt was called off, though the Seward Volunteer Fire Department kept looking. GETTING DOWNThe fastest of the field is able to descend the mountain in under five or six minutes. If my dad had fallen in one of those chutes and a snow bridge had collapsed over him, the infrared helicopters wouldnt have been able to find him., Michael was declared dead in August 2012 after a presumptive death hearing. Peggy originally asked for $5 million in a settlement but both parties agreed to a $20,000 payout. We dont claim that its safe, she says. They did have pit stops, but by the time he got to the top, it was all packed up. [2], Hutchins lived in Johnson City, but the family also lived just across the border in North Carolina. And now, if you do Mount Marathon, you have to attest publicly, you have to sign something like in a public room full of other racers that says that you have been up and down the whole course. MOVING FORWARDThe community of Seward was hit hard. But crews found no sign of LeMaitre. Create a personalized feed and bookmark your favorites. During the court case, Chamber officials obtained access to the LaMaitres financial records in an effort to prove that Michael had staged his own disappearance and that he was alive. What happened to LeMaitre? At this point, the area was getting foggy and cold but Walsh saw no reason to be concerned about the condition of the runner. Michael was competing for the first time in the 85th running of the Mount Marathon race, with participants running up the mountain surrounded, by thick forests and creeks over 3.1 to 3.5 miles. A quest to create a multi-stage tour designed specifically for runners. The race officials had already packed up by around 6 p.m., when my dad was still headed up. The most puzzling casualty, however, was 66-year-old Anchorage resident Michael LeMaitre, who vanished without a trace on his way up the mountain and is believed to be the first fatality in the races history. Question: Was there ever any sign of the Mount Marathon runner who vanished during the race several years ago? I think thats fascinating people. But anything could have happened. The community is pretty heartbroken about it, and so many have reminded me that people are going to keep looking. The 93rd Mount Marathon race will be held Wednesday in Seward after a year off because of the pandemic. There is not an active search for him currently, McDaniel said. Or remains need to be found.. 1.5 miles straight up from sea level to 2,094 feet and 1.5 miles right back down.The Mount Marathon Race . -, http://rw.runnersworld.com/selects/last-man-up.html. Website by Zee Creative. Its a bad idea to come down that way, but people do it. His disappearance was especially striking because he had been participating in an event that each year draws tens of thousands of spectators to Seward, and hundreds of runners onto the mountain itself. Let us know in the form at the bottom of the story. A world-renowned endurance athlete who went missing in California's Yosemite National Park has been found dead. Fink: Distance in this race isnt as critical as vertical. I had to go down, but before I did I looked over the slide area and saw a black bear. And finally, I decided that I needed to go on the mountain by myself, because thats how he did the race. Lingit Aani Kaa Kei Nas.ax Haa Yoo Xatangi, the Anchorage Daily News Curious Alaska column, https://media.ktoo.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/8-Michelle-Theriault-int.mp3. I want to inspire people to dream big and go out there and make it happen!. He wasnt carrying any water. The race is short, only three miles long. Her personal best times are 1:14:19 in the half marathon (2014); and 2:36:50 in the marathon (2020). But the race, which has been run as an organized event since 1915, is a beast, with a 3,022-foot vertical gain and loss over icy and treacherous mountain terrain, where runners pick their own way upand downthe average 38-degree slope. Crom said the pair had climbed mountains together worldwide. At around 5.45 pm on the day of the race, Tom Walsh, a race steward, saw Michael ascending to the turnaround point with about 200 feet to go. He says a smaller field could prevent the already precarious course from becoming overcrowded and compromising runners ability to choose the safest path down the mountain. The road takes a few minutes before you hit what we call the mountain. He could have been buried under the snow. Montana Women's Run is a proud member of the Road Runners Club of America. There are now sweepers that follow the Red Lantern, the last runner down the mountain, to ensure every person has gotten off the mountain. By the end of the day, two were in the hospital with serious injuries and one had vanished. The chutes had snow bridges on them that have been collapsing all summer. Michael LeMaitre could have taken just a few wrong turns, and then very quickly was in the thousands and thousands of impenetrable, mountainous wilderness in the Kenai mountains. Downhill is 12 mph. A partial human jawbone was found near Tonsina Point, a few mountainous miles away, in 2014. What did they tell you nine years later about this? The race changed as a result of the disappearance. The. But until this year, no one had ever died or gone missing on the race. Apr 30, 2022. I think that vastness and the proximity of that vastness to town and to thousands of people and spectators, that you could be gone without a trace while there are hundreds of runners and thousands of spectators, like a mile less than a mile away from you, is just a reminder for Alaskans of that very thin line we live in between our little patches of town and kind of infinite wilderness and the dangers of that. There was an extensive search, his bereaved family also continued to search. [5][6] In 2019 she earned All-American status for a second straight year at the national Foot Locker Cross Country Championships.,[5][10]. Mountain rescue experts, firemen, state troopers, search dogs and LeMaitres family spent thousands of hours searching the area but without a single clue being found. Alyse Bondi, Jenna's close friend from Cornell, said Jenna loves to run. There are no sweepers that follow the Red Lantern, the last runner down the mountain, to ensure every person has gotten off the mountain.
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