Newlywed Woman, 24, Dies in Alaska Trying to Reach the Bus Made Famous by Into the Wild
A newlywed woman died in Alaska while attempting to reach an abandoned bus made famous by the book and movie Into the Wild.
On Thursday, Piotr Markielau and his wife Veramika Maikamava were hiking and trying to cross the Teklanika River near Healy, Alaska, when she was swept under the water, Alaska State Troopers explained, adding that the river “was running high and swift due to recent rains.”
Markielau was eventually able to pull his wife out of the water, but she had already died. She was 24.
The body has been sent to the state’s medical examiner, and an investigation into the incident is ongoing, Alaska State Troopers added.
According to the Washington Post, the couple had been married for less than a month and were attempting to find the bus featured in Into the Wild — a 1996 book by Jon Krakauer that was subsequently made into a movie in 2007. The film, which stars Emile Hirsch, was written and directed by Sean Penn.
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The book and film are based on the true story of hiker Christopher McCandless, who traveled the Alaska wilderness in 1992 with little supplies and food, and spent the summer living in the bus.
In September of that year, his body was found inside the vehicle.
Since McCandless’ death, the bus — sometimes referred to as the “Magic Bus,” according to the Post — has drawn visitors to Alaska’s Stampede Trail.
