Nome, AK – In Nome, the search for Joseph Balderas continues. Other than his abandoned car near mile 44 on the Nome-Council Highway, there has been no sign of him.
Searchers on foot and ATVs as well as dog teams have been out scouring the tundra.
The search has been tiring for the members of Nome’s Search and Rescue team. Erica Wieler spent hours in a spotter helicopter earlier this week looking for any clues to Balderas’ whereabouts. She says she is doing her best to stay positive. “Everytime we have refueled or landed and gotten back up in the air, I’ve had hope that we’d come up with something, and that restarts everyday. I wake up, and I have hope that we will be finding him.”
Each day that passes wears on the hope of rescuers, but this has not diminished the dedication of Nome’s Search and Rescue team. Alaska State Trooper John Stroebele reflected on how these kinds of searches can be difficult. “Day one, you know, you’re looking so hard because you think you’re going to see them, and then each day it diminishes a little bit, but we are still continuing in the hopes that he is alive.”
For Stroebele, his admiration only grows for those continuing to look for Balderas as days pass. “It kinda reaffirms my faith in humans. I get to see a lot of a unfortunate things in my career, and this is inspiring.”
Volunteers with Nome Search and Rescue plan to continue their search for 36-year-old Balderas until he is found or officials make the decision to call off the search.
