Doug Larson reacts after hearing that Alaska State Troopers are calling off their search for his missing daughter, Jenae Larson, on Monday, Dec. 7, 2020, in Haines, Alaska. Larson and her landlord, Haines resident David Simmons have been missing since a 600-foot landslide swept through their home during a record-breaking rainfall. (Photo by Rashah McChesney/KTOO)
The Alaska State Troopers are suspending the search for two Haines residents who went missing after a massive landslide destroyed their home.
Local business leader David Simmons and his tenant, Jenae Larson, a kindergarten teacher in town, have been missing since Wednesday’s landslide on Beach Road.
At a meeting Sunday evening Alaska State Trooper Nick Zito said that groups who assisted in the search such as Juneau Mountain Rescue and the SEADOGS would be leaving the area.
“We’ve sent back a lot of those resources because we’ve exhausted them. There’s not really much more we can use them for. If we do have a dog need, we’ll bring the dog back from Haines to assist us,” he said.
Zito said the weather has been a huge impediment to the search. Teams have been able to fly over the debris pile and comb the beaches, but the slide has been too unstable to search on foot.
According to a statement from the Alaska State Trooper, active search operations were suspended due to continued rain and the likelihood of additional landslides in the area. Ground searchers left by boat today. New evidence or information could change things, but for now the search is over.
In a prepared statement, Haines Mayor Douglas Olerud told the community it was more than likely that Larson and Simmons are deceased and that they cannot risk losing additional lives by putting search and rescue personnel on the slide.
“I do want to thank everyone that has come together to support the community of Haines and especially the family and loved ones of Jenae and David,” he said.
“While we deal with the aftermath of this immense tragedy, we would like to thank all the resources which immediately came to the aid of the Haines Borough… So many heeded the call when we asked for help. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all.”
Jeremy Larson, the brother of Jenae Larson, thanked the community of Haines for supporting his family.
“We just want to thank everybody for taking their time and it’s been really humbling to see this kind of turnout and all these people here who care about my little sister. You can’t really prepare for this, but having these people in our corner are going to make the next weeks, months, years a lot more bearable,” said Larson.
The Alaska Department of Public Safety has added Simmons and Larson to the Alaska Missing Persons Clearinghouse list.
One sergeant with the troopers will stay in town and help with disaster relief. Members of the Coast Guard will remain in the area as well.
This is a developing news story and will be updated as information becomes available. Henry Leasia, Rashah McChesney, Claire Stremple, and Abbey Collins contributed reporting to this story.
A previous version of this story misspelled Jenae Larson’s name and Sgt. Zito’s name.
