Researcher Disappears After Falling into Glacier Stream

A researcher from Italy is missing after he fell into a stream on Alaska’s Mendenhall Glacier, authorities said. 

The Alaska Department of Public Safety (DPS) said that on Tuesday, Sept. 2, around 1:45 p.m. local time, Alaska Wildlife Troopers were notified that an adult male had fallen into the stream and then vanished after he was pushed by the water into a small, vertical opening in the ice. 

“The two people he was traveling with could no longer see him once he fell into the opening,” the DPS stated in its dispatch report. 

The department added that the group Juneau Mountain Rescue sent an ice rescue team who found that the approximately two-foot-wide hole was filled with rushing water.

“It was determined to be too dangerous to attempt to locate the missing man, pending any further leads,” the DPS said. 

The missing man was identified only as a resident of Italy, and efforts are being made to notify his next of kin, the DPS added.

A DPS spokesperson said that the man was performing research on the glacier around the time of the incident, The Guardian reported. 

PEOPLE contacted the DPS for additional information on Thursday, Sept. 4. 

The researcher’s disappearance comes one day after the body of a missing hiker was found on Monday, Sept. 1, near the Mendenhall Glacier.

The DPS said that on Sunday, Aug. 31, state troopers received a report that Thomas Casey, 69, of Arizona was last seen the day before and had apparently gone on a hike. No information was offered on where he was hiking or when he would return. 

Authorities said Casey’s phone was pinged and later showed a remote spot between Thunder mountain trail and Nugget Creek trail, which prompted rescue teams to respond to the area of the ping. 

“At 5pm on 9/1/2025, Juneau Mountain Rescue and SEAdogs located Thomas deceased from injuries obtained from a fall,” the DPS said in a dispatch report. “He was located near the Mendenhall Glacier on the west side off the trail.”

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Casey’s body was scheduled to be taken to the state medical examiner’s office and his next of kin was notified, the DPS added. 

The Mendenhall Glacier, a popular recreation area in Juneau, is described as “one of many major glaciers that connect to the vast Juneau Ice Field, a 1,500 square mile remnant of the last ice age,” according to the U.S. Forest Service website.