Footprints that may belong to a Lake Nebagamon hiker missing in Alaska have been found leading up to a mound of sediment at the edge of a glacier, where they then disappear.
Paul Schoch, 68, has been missing in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park since last Monday. On that day, a plane arrived -- a day late, due to weather -- to pick him up and found the airstrip where he was to wait empty. Schoch's food, tent and equipment later were found nearby.
Searchers on Friday found the footprints in soft soil and sand, park spokesman Smitty Parratt said Saturday. They lead to a lateral moraine in front of Russell Glacier. Parratt described a lateral moraine as a buildup of stones, dirt and other sediment in front of a glacier.
Parratt had not been to this specific moraine, but said moraines in general can grow to cliff-like heights.
"It can be a hazardous environment in terms of steep edges, falling rocks, things like that," he said. "Falling off of a lateral moraine could be a pretty big fall."
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Parratt said Schoch, a photographer, may have wanted to go to the moraine because it was a vantage point from which he could take pictures of the glacier.
"He had indicated some interest in the Russell Glacier in particular," Parratt said.
A news release from the park said the search intensified around the moraine after the footprints were discovered, but no sign of Schoch was found.
Four inches of snow have fallen in the area since a plane dropped off Schoch at Skolai Pass, 4,500 feet above sea level, on Sept. 12.
