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Search for Sue

I drove 1980 km in two days. You can see my route on the Alaska map.
From Fairbanks to Minto, then from Minto back to Fairbanks, slept for two hours and then to Circle.
From there back to Fairbanks, on to Denali Park, shortly after that another two hours sleep and on to Wasilla.
Sadly, I found no trace of Sue!

It's really frustrating...

Shortly after Housten I could already see the column of smoke from the fires in the Minto Flats!

The closer I got to Nenana, the bigger the pillar became...

Images cannot reflect the size

You have to see something like this with your own eyes...

The smell alone almost knocks you out...

Even over a hundred kilometers away, you can see the columns of smoke...

Just before Fairbanks, the sky darkened...

There was also a fire in the flats off Fairbanks...

Smoke from the two fires darkened the sky...

Even the sun soon disappeared in this smoke!

Unfortunately, there are no pictures of the drive to Minto, because I had enough to do keeping the SUV on the road in the thick smoke....

I was lucky, the wind shifted and the smoke from the fires didn't drift towards the Circle the next day!

Wide landscape with many side roads...

Thank God the Toyota had four-wheel drive, but unfortunately no winch...

As you can probably guess, looking for a person or a car in this landscape is like looking for a needle in a haystack...

A few years ago there was a fire here too. The entire slopes are covered in fireweed!

Balm for my eyes, but not for my soul! My thoughts are with Sue….

The lodge at Central. No sign of Sue there either. But the people there were very helpful!

Back again over the passes towards Fox

My GPS with the topo maps was enormously helpful, especially on the many smaller routes!

How are you supposed to find a car here….

Hour after hour we went over various side tracks!

Some were in pretty good shape...

Some were one-way tracks with no turning options, so I had to drive in reverse for a long time, not exactly fun, especially not uphill...

Some slopes were hard to find! Good thing the Toyota's paintwork and windshield were already ruined beforehand…
I didn't feel comfortable driving in such overgrown roads, especially not alone, but I think Sue must be much more scared than I am, when she's stuck here!

I also checked out the quarries...

I have even looked in the clear lakes...

On the way back from Fairbanks I could see Mt. Denali

I kept seeing moose, but that didn't cheer me up either! My thoughts were with Sue...
I drove over 2000 km without finding Sue....

We have been looking for Sue for some time now, but have not found a trace!
The police are also looking for her and her car.
The TV stations, radio stations and newspapers here in Alaska are also reporting on Sue's disappearance and are asking everyone for help. However, there is no trace of Sue!

It's really frustrating!

ADDENDUM 08/19/2009
Today I got this mail from Terry....

BAD NEWS Chris

Sue was found at mile marker 92 on the steese hwy.

Her vehicle was 150' from the roadway over the side of a steep raven. The truck rolled and flipped several times, ejected her from the truck. She was laying 50' from the truck and her truck wound up down in the trees.

She was killed instantly.

DOT guy found her, she had been there the whole entire time. Her decomposed body was too hard to identify.

They're doing a complete autopsy on her.

The frustrating thing is that I must have driven past this spot 3 times!

But I had no chance to notice it because if a car has driven into the ravine here then the young willows immediately stand up again and nobody can notice anything…
Sometimes life is really unfair!

Wasilla resident Carolyn Sue Tyrrell, 68, passed away July 4, 2009, in a vehicle accident at Mile 92 Steese Highway in Fairbanks.

Carolyn was born Feb. 17, 1941, in Miami, Okla., to M.L. (Boe) and Bulah Parnell. She was the youngest of three children.

She graduated from South Eugene High School, class of 1959 in Eugene, Ore. She came to Alaska with her life partner in March 1986. They fell in love with Alaska and traveled the state fishing, camping, sightseeing and in the later years, catching gold fever. They purchased a gold claim on the Steese Highway north of Fairbanks and enjoyed much time in the area.

Carolyn loved her birds, gardening and playing bingo. She was an active member of the American Legion Post 35 Auxiliary in Wasilla and was a registered tribal member of the Wyandotte Nation of Oklahoma. Carolyn was an outgoing person who enjoyed the company of many friends and family, by which she will be missed greatly.

She is survived by her sons, Terry L. Tyrrell of Big Lake and William R. Tyrrell of Coeur d'Alene, Idaho; her daughter, Deborah K. Tyrrell of Coeur d'Alene; four grandchildren; five nephews; two nieces; and many cousins throughout Alaska and the Lower 48.

Rest in Peace Sue !

I miss you so much

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