XPost: alt.fan.rush-limbaugh, talk.politics.guns, sac.politics
XPost: alt.culture.alaska

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) � A man who was walking on tidal mud flats with
friends in an Alaska estuary got stuck up to his waist in the quicksand-
like silt and drowned as the tide came in before frantic rescuers could
extract him, authorities said.

Zachary Porter, 20, of Lake Bluff, Illinois, was submerged Sunday evening
as the tide came in, and his body was recovered Monday morning, Alaska
State Troopers spokesperson Austin McDaniel told The Associated Press. A
member of Porter�s group called 911 when they couldn�t get him out, but it
was too late, authorities said.

The accident was the latest tragedy at Turnagain Arm, a 48-mile-long (77- kilometer-long) estuary carved out long ago by glaciers that travels
southeast from the Anchorage area and parallels a major highway. At low
tide, the estuary is known for its dangerous mud flats made of silt
created by glacier-pulverized rocks. At least three other people have
gotten stuck and drowned there over the years. Many more have been
rescued, including someone who was fishing there last month.

�It�s big, it�s amazing, it�s beautiful, and it�s overwhelming,� Kristy Peterson, the administrator and lead EMT for the Hope-Sunrise Volunteer
Fire Department, said of Alaska. �But you have to remember that it�s
Mother Nature, and she has no mercy for humanity.�

Peterson, who responded to the call, spoke with others in Porter�s party
but didn�t talk to him during the desperate rescue attempt.

�When we respond, we respond with the utmost of good intentions and as
mothers and fathers and uncles and brothers,� she said. �We respond with
as much passion and vigor as we can.�

The volunteer members of the department will gather later in the week for
a debriefing, she said.

�I have been in contact with all my members, and they�re all heartbroken,� Peterson said. �This is a hard situation.�

The accident occurred near the community of Hope, a quaint community of
about 80 people. It lies across Turnagain Arm just 22 miles � but a 90-
minute drive � from Anchorage.

The estuary travels southeast from the Anchorage area and parallels the
Seward Highway, the only highway that goes south and delivers tourists
from Anchorage to the sportsman�s paradise of the Kenai Peninsula.

At low tide, Turnagain Arm is known for its mud flats that �can suck you
down,� Peterson said. �It looks like it�s solid, but it�s not.�

When the tide comes back in, the silt gets wet from the bottom, loosens up
and can create a vacuum if a person walks on it.

Signs are posted warning people of hazardous waters and mud flats.

�I�ve really got to warn people against playing the mud,� Peterson said.
�It�s dangerous.�

Some people attempt to walk across Turnagain Arm or walk the 9 miles (14 kilometers) from Anchorage to Fire Island during low tide, sometimes
prompting rescue efforts.

There have been other deaths on the mud flats. In 1988, newlyweds Adeana
and Jay Dickison were gold dredging on the eastern end of the arm when her
ATV got stuck in the mud, the Anchorage Daily News reported. She then
became stuck when trying to push it out and drowned with the incoming
tide.

In 1978, an unnamed Air Force sergeant attempting to cross Turnagain Arm
was swept away with the leading edge of the tide. His body was never
found, the Anchorage newspaper reported. In 2013, Army Capt. Joseph Eros
died while trying to cross from Fire Island back to Anchorage.

Earlier this month, a man was rescued from the mud flats after one leg
became stuck, and he sank to his waist while fishing in Turnagain Arm.

Peterson said they got the rescue call after Porter was in serious
trouble, and it takes time to mobilize. Another department � about an
hour�s drive away � also responded.

Peterson urged people to call 911 as soon as possible.

�If you think that there�s an issue, if you think that there even might be
an issue, call,� she said. �Because we can get resources moving, and we
would rather turn around and go home then it be a disaster.�

<https://www.mystateline.com/news/man-gets-stuck-waist-deep-in-alaska-mud- flats-drowns-as-tide-comes-in/>


--
We live in a time where intelligent people are being silenced so that
stupid people won't be offended.

Durham Report: The FBI has an integrity problem. It has none.

No collusion - Special Counsel Robert Swan Mueller III, March 2019.
Officially made Nancy Pelosi a two-time impeachment loser.

Thank you for cleaning up the disaster of the 2008-2017 Obama / Biden
fiasco, President Trump.

Under Barack Obama's leadership, the United States of America became the
The World According To Garp. Obama sold out heterosexuals for Hollywood
queer liberal democrat donors.

President Trump boosted the economy, reduced illegal invasions, appointed dozens of judges and three SCOTUS justices.

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