Alaska Police Searching for Tennessee Couple Missing on 50th Birthday Vacation

Alaska state Troopers said it had "launched a search and rescue operation" in the Chena Hot Springs Resort, where the couple was reportedly last seen

Police in Alaska are searching for a Tennessee couple who mysteriously disappeared while on vacation a week ago.

The Alaska Department of Safety, State Trooper’s Public Information Office said in a press release that an investigation was launched into the whereabouts of Jonas Bare, 50, and Cynthia Hovsepian, 37, after they had not made their return flight home from Alaska or contacted family.

The Fairbanks Police Department said during its investigation that it “located the couple’s luggage still at their Fairbanks accommodations,” per the release. The couple was supposed to have checked out of their rental on Sunday, Aug. 11 after a two-day stay, but never did, according to the New York Post.

Alaska State and Wildlife Troopers expanded their search across Alaska and found a lead on the evening of Aug. 12 when they located the couple’s vehicle, a dark-blue Jeep Compass, parked at Chena Hot Springs Resort.

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A missing person’s bulletin issued by Alaska State Troopers on Wednesday said the couple was last seen on Aug. 10, on a popular hiking trail near the Chena Hot Springs Resort in Fairbanks.

The Alaska State Troopers also said they were dispatched on a search and rescue mission aiding the Fairbanks police in searching for the couple on Chena Hot Springs Road.

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“Troopers launched a search and rescue operation in the area and have been actively searching the area with helicopters, sUAS, ATVs, professional search and rescue teams, and K9 teams,” Alaska State Troopers said in a press release. “Search efforts are ongoing.”

The missing person’s bulletin provided a description of the couple who were reported missing on Saturday, Aug. 12. Bare was described as having brown hair and brown eyes with a height of 5’9 and a weight of 190 lbs.

Meanwhile, Hovsepian was described as having blonde hair with green eyes, with a height of 5’6 and weighing 120 lbs. She is also described as being “visually impaired” and sometimes uses a cane for assistance. Police noted that what they were last seen wearing is unknown.

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Bare had reportedly posted on Facebook about traveling to the 50th state for his 50th birthday, and had also written about wanting to go hiking and hoping not to “get lost like I did 10 years ago in Australia and Katoomba Range,” per a Aug. 8 post on Facebook.

"If a Kodiak gets me, I'll consider that an honorable death," he added.

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