Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

NLV man dies when commercial canoe flips in Alaska river

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Nevada man died when a commercial canoe with 10 people on board overturned in a glacier river in southeast Alaska.

The body of 50-year-old Steven Todd Willis of North Las Vegas was pulled from the Davidson Glacier River by a Coast Guard helicopter crew.

Alaska State Troopers shortly after 10:30 a.m. Monday received a report from the Haines Police Department that the commercial canoe with an operator and nine passengers had overturned in rapids.

A Coast Guard helicopter headed to Skagway was diverted, and the crew found Willis' body. He was pronounced dead just before 1 p.m.

Everyone on board wore life jackets. The helicopter transported the nine survivors to a staging area.

The name of the boat operator was not immediately released.