David Hinkel 8/15/98 Wolverine Glacier Hunter Fall

Missing hunter's body found
ADN 8/18/98

A hunter missing for two days in the Chugach Mountains above Palmer was found dead Monday evening, Alaska State Troopers said. David Hinkel apparently fell on a steep slope of a mountain about a half-mile from Wolverine Glacier, trooper Chad Goeden said.  Hinkel's body remained in the mountains Monday night and was expected to be recovered today, Goeden said.  Hinkel left his Palmer home Aug. 8 to hunt Dall sheep near the headwaters of Wolverine Creek.  He planned to hike out Friday night or Saturday morning and call his wife by cellular phone when he reached the trail head, Goeden said.  She called troopers at 5:15 p.m. Saturday to report him missing, and troopers began searching that night with a helicopter and two fixed-wing aircraft.  Hinkel was a 31-year-old assistant hunting guide with extensive outdoor skills, Goeden said.  ''Because of his competence and experience, he was in some remote rugged country,'' which made searching difficult, the trooper said.  A helicopter pilot spotted the body on a steep, rocky slope.  A climber from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group was flown in and hiked a short way to confirm the death, Goeden said.  ''It was incredibly steep, and (Hinkel) fell onto a shale-covered bowl.''  Hinkel and his wife had two teenage daughters.