'If you think that there's an issue, if you think that there even might be an issue, call,' she said. Peterson urged people to call 911 as soon as possible. Another department - about an hour's drive away - also responded. Peterson said they got the rescue call after Porter was in serious trouble, and it takes time to mobilize. People and animals can get stuck in it, but they don’t get sucked down to the bottomthey. That’s because quicksand is denser than the human body. Joseph Eros died while trying to cross from Fire Island back to Anchorage.Įarlier this month, a man was rescued from the mud flats after one leg became stuck, and he sank to his waist while fishing in Turnagain Arm. Quicksandthat is, sand that behaves as a liquid because it is saturated with watercan be a mucky nuisance, but it’s basically impossible to die in the way that is depicted in movies. His body was never found, the Anchorage newspaper reported. In 1978, an unnamed Air Force sergeant attempting to cross Turnagain Arm was swept away with the leading edge of the tide. She then became stuck when trying to push it out and drowned with the incoming tide. In 1988, newlyweds Adeana and Jay Dickison were gold dredging on the eastern end of the arm when her ATV got stuck in the mud, the Anchorage Daily News reported. There have been other deaths on the mud flats. Some people attempt to walk across Turnagain Arm or walk the 9 miles from Anchorage to Fire Island during low tide, sometimes prompting rescue efforts. 'It's dangerous.' A group of surfers ride the Bore Tide at Turnagain Arm on July 15, 2014, in Anchorage, Alaska. 'I've really got to warn people against playing the mud,' Peterson said. Signs are posted warning people of hazardous waters and mud flats. When the tide comes back in, the silt gets wet from the bottom, loosens up and can create a vacuum if a person walks on it. 'It looks like it's solid, but it's not.' The estuary travels southeast from the Anchorage area and parallels the Seward Highway, the only highway that goes south and delivers tourists from Anchorage to the sportsman's paradise of the Kenai Peninsula.Īt low tide, Turnagain Arm is known for its mud flats that 'can suck you down,' Peterson said. It lies across Turnagain Arm just 22 miles - but a 90-minute drive - from Anchorage. The accident occurred near Hope, a quaint community of about 80 people. 'I have been in contact with all my members, and they're all heartbroken,' Peterson said.

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