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Mt. Iliamna is an active cone-shaped volcano located one hundred and forty miles (225 km) southwest of Anchorage and seventy miles (113 km) northwest of Homer. It is part of the Chigmit Mountains and rises from its base near Cook Inlet to 10,016 feet (3052.9 m), one of the highest peaks in the volcanically active area of the Alaska Peninsula. Ten glaciers radiate from the volcano’s slopes.
Iliamna last erupted in 1867, and observers have occasionally seen smoke wafting from the summit since then. However, it is the weather surrounding the mountain, not the volcanic activity, that makes Iliamna dangerous. Clouds frequently cloak the mountain’s peak, and turbulent winds buffet this mountainous region, creating some of the most hazardous weather on the planet. Coastal fog and rain often create restricted visibility and a low ceiling. For aviators, flying in this area of the state can be challenging, dangerous, and sometimes deadly. Between 1958 and 1977, four mid-sized planes either crashed into Mt. Iliamna or were destroyed by the turbulence near the mountain, killing a total of seventy-nine people.
Sources:
Abbott, Jeanne. “No survivors found at site of plane crash.” September 9, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.
“Clouds, rain hinder search.” February 14, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.
“Ground party will investigate wreck of C-54 at Iliamna.” December 27, 1958. Anchorage Daily News.
“Halt attempted to recover airmen on Mt. Iliamna.” December 29, 1958. Anchorage Daily News.
Liefer, Gregory P. Aviation Mysteries of the North. “Cleared as Filed.” 2011. Anchorage, AK. Publication Consultants.
Liefer, Gregory P. Broken Wings. “Turbulence Over Pedro Bay.” 2014. Anchorage, AK. Publication Consultants.
Liefer, Gregory P. Broken Wings. “An Accumulation of Errors.” 2014. Anchorage, AK. Publication Consultants.
“Mt. Iliamna crash hearing to open today.” November 9, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.
“Mt. Iliamna – Where 15 Alaska airmen died.” December 27, 1958. Anchorage Daily News.
“Pilots, AAI blamed for crash.” May 5, 1978. Anchorage Daily News.
“Plane wreckage is identified as missing C-54.” December 26, 1958. Anchorage Daily News.
Porterfield, Bob. “AAI crash probe opens.” November 10, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.
Porterfield, Bob. “Federal findings show AAI plane’s violation.” October 22, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.
Porterfield, Bob. “Iliamna crash – why?” October 1, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.
“Rescuers held off crash site.” September 8, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.
Weller, Robert. “Controller at fault in air crash?” February 15, 1977. Anchorage Daily News.
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Robin Barefield lives in the wilderness on Kodiak Island, where she and her husband own a remote lodge. She has a master’s degree in fish and wildlife biology and is a wildlife-viewing and fishing guide. Robin has published six novels: Big Game, Murder Over Kodiak, The Fisherman’s Daughter, Karluk Bones, Massacre at Bear Creek Lodge, and The Ultimate Hunt. She has also published two non-fiction books: Kodiak Island Wildlife and Murder and Mystery in the Last Frontier. She draws on her love and appreciation of the Alaska wilderness as well as her scientific background when writing.
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On a cold February night in 1921, Jack Sturgus, Anchorage’s first police chief, patrolled downtown Anchorage. He strolled past local businessman Oscar Anderson at 9:00 P.M., and they exchanged pleasantries, but what happened over the next few minutes constitutes one of the biggest mysteries in Anchorage history. At 9:30 P.M., night watchman John McNutt discovered Sturgus lying in an alley behind the Anchorage Drug Store and the Liberty Café near Fourth Avenue and E Street. Sturgus was bleeding from a single gunshot wound to the chest. The watchman summoned help, and several men carried Sturgus to the hospital. Sturgus kept mumbling about being cold and needing to be turned over. In the hospital, he complained about the bright lights. He repeatedly called, ‘Oh, Bobby, Bobby, Bobby.” but when asked who shot him, he did not reply. Sturgus died at 10:50 P.M.
arrested anyone for his murder, and until now, no one has ever answered the question of who shot Jack Sturgus. Recent in-depth research by two Anchorage history buffs brings us as close as we will ever be to knowing what happened between 9:00 P.M. and 9:30 P.M. on February 20, 1921, in a back alley in the newly incorporated city of Anchorage, Alaska.
