Alaska Investigators Solve Decades-Old Case of Missing New Yorker Using DNA

Gary Sotherden in 1972Photo bySotherden Family

After almost 50 years, a skull discovered in Alaska in 1997 has been identified as Gary Frank Sotherden, a man from Clay, New York who went missing in the Arctic Circle. The DNA analysis matched the skull with his brother, giving a sense of closure.

The Alaska Bureau of Investigation suspects that his cause of death was a bear attack. Gary had disappeared while on a hunting trip near the Porcupine River in northeastern Alaska in the fall of 1976. Despite search parties being sent out and planes and police scouring the area, no clues were found. Gary was fond of the outdoors and frequently went on trapping expeditions. He was 25 at the time of his disappearance.

I remember saying to him: Please come back and visit us. You haven’t seen us in years and you’re going to be in the (outdoors) alone for months. But Gary was committed to his trapping trip and told us he couldn’t change his plans- Steve Stoherden, brother of Gary Sotherden

Twenty-one years after his disappearance, a hunter found a human skull along the Porcupine River. The skull was sent to the State Medical Examiner's Office, where DNA was extracted in April 2022.

We’ve been working on it for 45 years, and it’s nice that things came to a conclusion. It was a little more brutal than I was hoping for- Steve Stoherden, brother of Gary Sotherden

Following a cold case unit's request, Steve Sotherden's DNA was used to confirm the match. Steve, now 76 years old, received his brother's cremated remains and plans to hold a memorial service in the late spring or summer.

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