Hiker dies after fall in North Slope's Atigun Gorge

August 3rd 2:57 pm | Hannah Heimbuch

A hiker was killed last Wednesday evening after falling from a cliff and into a river, according to the North Slope Borough Police Department.

Lukas C. Grobler, 38, of South Africa, was hiking with another man in the Atigun Gorge when he suffered the fatal fall.

Surviving hiker Olaf Schjoll used a satellite phone to report the accident to Alaska State Troopers, who used the sat phone's coordinates to identify the hikers' location.

Police and US Coast Guard members responded to the scene. Though they were able to pick up Schjoll, they were not able to recover Grobler's body, partially submerged in the Atigun River.

Police returned the next day with North Slope Borough Search and Rescue and the North Slope Borough Fire Department and were able to retrieve Grobler's body. His next of kin — in Pretoria, South Africa — were notified, and his body was sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office in Anchorage for autopsy.

Police Department officials declined to comment any further about the incident, and they extend their condolences to members of the hiker's family.

Hannah Heimbuch can be reached at hheimbuch@reportalaska.com.

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