The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil’s Triangle, has fascinated scientists and conspiracy theorists alike with tales of disappearances without a trace, but it’s not the only spot in the world shrouded in unsolved mystery. But the mystery surrounding Alaska’s version of the Triangle is even more chilling. Surrounded by the sweeping mountains and heavy snowstorms and infamous for supposed alien abductions, Bigfoot sightings, and paranormal activity, this area has become so intriguing that the Travel Channel even made a series out of it. While I’m slow to believe the paranormal explanations, it’s still a bone-chilling mystery that’s worth exploring.
Where is the Alaska Triangle?
The borders of the Alaska Triangle connect Anchorage and Juneau in the south to Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) along the state’s north coast, three places that also rank among the best times and places to visit in Alaska, depending on the season. Like much of Alaska, especially regions explored on a true Alaskan wilderness road trip, the Triangle contains some of the most rugged, unforgiving terrain in North America. It’s an impossibly vast expanse of dense boreal forests, craggy mountain peaks, alpine lakes, and large swaths of plain old wilderness. Amid this dramatic backdrop, it’s hardly surprising that people go missing. What is surprising, however, is the sheer number of people who go missing. Add to that the fact that many disappear without a shred of evidence, and bodies (alive or dead) are rarely found.
Real stories of vanishing people in the Alaska Triangle
Interest in the Alaska Triangle began in 1972 when a small, private craft carrying U.S. House Majority Leader Hale Boggs seemingly vanished into thin air somewhere between Juneau and Anchorage. What followed was one of the nation’s largest-ever search-and-rescue missions. For more than a month, 50 civilian planes and 40 military craft scoured a search grid of 32,000 square miles (an area larger than the state of Maine). They never found a trace of Boggs, his crew, or his aircraft.
Paul Lemaitre suffered a similar fate. At 65, he competed in his first marathon and was rounding the last point, a mere 200 feet from the finish line. However, between that point, where he gave his bib number to a race official, and the end, he vanished. Authorities believed he had likely fallen off the marathon’s path through the wilderness, yet despite the minuscule area that needed to be searched and the participation of State Troopers, mountain rescue experts, and even trained search dogs, not a trace of the man was ever located.
Alan Foster is another example of odd disappearances in the region. In 2013, the expert pilot of nearly 10,000 flight hours vanished from radar soon after takeoff. Neither he nor his aircraft were ever found. He gave no indication of any distress prior to losing contact, and the only oddity beforehand was that he dropped to an altitude of 1,100 feet.
Richard Griffiths was an inventor who was hoping to prove the worth of his special wilderness survival cocoon. However, after several months of people believing him to be testing his cocoon in the Alaskan wilderness, he was reported missing. The following investigation found that he took a bus toward the White River, a tributary of the Yukon, spent some time in a lodge, and was never seen again.
Paranormal theories surrounding the Alaska Triangle
Given the sheer size of the Triangle, it’s easy to chalk up its “mysteries” to the perils of traveling through such an inhospitable landscape. Alaska is big — at more than twice the size of Texas, it’s huge, actually. Most of the state remains uninhabited, dominated by rugged mountains and dense forests. Finding a missing person in the Alaskan wilderness isn’t like finding a needle in a haystack. It’s like finding a specific molecule in a haystack.
By the numbers, it seems something more interesting might be at play. More than 16,000 people — including airplane passengers and hikers, locals, and tourists — have disappeared within the Alaska Triangle since 1988. The rate per 1,000 people is more than twice the national missing persons average, and the rate of people who are never found is even higher. Many people think that the numbers imply that something else is going on here other than merely “getting lost in the mountains.”
Some believe the Alaska Triangle harbors energy vortexes — places where concentrated electromagnetic energy disrupts navigation, time, or even space. Others speculate on alien activity. This area is a hotspot for UFO sightings, so some believe that extraterrestrial beings may be responsible. A few even swear to Bigfoot sightings.
Even the indigenous Tlingit people tell stories of spiritual gateways or portals, as well as a shape-shifting demon called the Kushtaka, said to lure travelers to their doom. This huge, otter-like creature can shape shift into human form in order to ensnare its victims.
Why so many disappearances?
However, the most likely scientific explanation is simple geography. The state’s massive glaciers are rife with giant holes, hidden caves, and building-sized crevasses. All these provide the perfect burying grounds for downed aircraft and wayward souls. Once an aircraft crash-lands or a hiker becomes stranded, the fast-moving, year-round snow squalls can easily bury any trace of a person or airplane. Once that plane or person is buried by fresh snow, the likelihood of finding them is near zero.
Other factors likely contribute as well. Compasses, for example, can sometimes be wrong by as much as 30 degrees in the area because of a phenomenon called declination. While that may not seem like much, when knowing where you are depends on it, a 30-degree error can easily send you off course and then steer you wrong when you try to navigate your way home.
In the end, the Alaska Triangle’s mysteries are likely a mix of natural dangers and human error. Despite that, paranormal theories and mythical stories are fun to speculate about, so the region still retains much of its allure. Whether you view it as a natural hazard zone or a hotspot for supernatural phenomena, the Alaska Triangle stretches our understanding of the world and remains a place of intrigue for skeptics and believers alike.
Whatever you believe, the Alaska Triangle proves one thing: truth is often stranger than fiction. Would you dare to explore it?
