A 24-year-old airman who went missing on a Chena River kayaking trip Friday was remembered this week after his body was recovered Sunday evening. Staff Sgt. Christian Diaz, stationed at Kunsan Air Base in Korea, was visiting Eielson Air Force Base for training, the Fairbanks Police Department said. Diaz was assigned to the 8th Fighter Wing and was in Fairbanks for the Red Flag exercises taking place this month, borough officials said.
Diaz had spent Friday kayaking with three friends on the Chena River and was not wearing a life jacket, police said. The fire department was dispatched to the river near a boat launch after witnesses reported that Diaz had gone missing after his kayak overturned, they said. Authorities said they found his body around 7 p.m. Sunday near the boat launch after multiple agencies and volunteers searched continuously since Diaz entered the river Friday evening.
His mother, in a post on social media Monday, thanked all the people involved in the search and said her son “would be so touched by all the love and support.” Fairbanks North Star Borough Mayor Grier Hopkins thanked those involved in the search and expressed the community’s sorrow in a statement Tuesday.
“Recreating on the Chena River is a cherished part of summer life here in Interior Alaska, and we want everyone — residents and visitors alike — to be able to take part in that safely,“ Hopkins said in the statement. ”Staff Sgt. Diaz’s family, friends and fellow airmen are in our thoughts.”
Borough and public safety officials urged the public to remember that even when the weather is warm, as it was over the weekend, the water is still extremely cold and “can inhibit even strong swimmers’ ability to self-rescue within minutes,” said the borough statement, which also encouraged the use of personal flotation devices.
