Bernard W. Boehmer

Man dies in Eklutna fall
by The Associated Press, ADN 11/10/97

A 37-year-old man died early Sunday morning after falling 1,200 feet from a ravine in Eklutna, Anchorage police said.

Anchorage police identified the man as Bernard W. Boehmer II.  His body was recovered from the base of the cliff at about 9:30 a.m.

A foreman at the Eklutna water treatment plant noticed two men in a parked car near the plant early Sunday morning.  A short time later, the foreman noticed only one man in the car and called police.

Investigators found Billy Carson 21 sleeping in the front seat of his car at 4:40 a.m.  Carson told police his friend tried to push the car back from the edge of the ravine where it had gotten stuck.  Carson told police that, when his friend fell from the cliff, he didn't know what to do, so he went to sleep, investigators said.

Police found alcohol and marijuana in the car.  Carson was arrested and charged with driving while intoxicated.

The Chugiak fire department, Alaska Mountain Rescue squad and Anchorage police and fire departments assisting in retrieving the body from the base of the cliff.