Skull found in Alaska linked to New York man nearly 47 years after he was ... trends now
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Authorities linked a skull found in Alaska more than two decades ago to a New York man who went missing in 1976.
Gary Frank Sotherden, then 25, traveled to the Arctic Circle in the mid-70s but never made it out as investigators later determined he died after likely being mauled by a bear.
Gary went to the Porcupine River with his friend the day he went missing. The two planned on splitting up and walking on opposite sides around the river until the water froze over - but Gary never met back with his friend, his brother told The New York Times.
A search party looked rigorously for Gary on foot, in the water, and in the air but were unable to find him. More than two decades later in 1997, a hiker discovered a human skull at the same river Gary was last seen.
At the time, investigators were unable to extract DNA, but the cold case was reopened in April. Officials narrowed down the skull as likely belonging to Gary and reached out to his brother Stephen Sotherden in late December to test his DNA to confirm the match
