Carl McCunn (January 25, 1947 – December 18, 1981) was an American wildlife photographer who became stranded in the Alaskan wilderness and eventually died by suicide when he ran out of supplies.
Early life and education
McCunn was the son of Donovan McCunn and Erika Hess. He was born in Munich, Germany, where his father was stationed by the United States Army. He was raised in San Antonio, Texas, graduated from high school in 1964, and enlisted in the United States Navy shortly after dropping out of community college. McCunn served in the Navy for four years and was discharged in 1969. He briefly lived in Seattle, Washington, before settling in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1970.
Alaskan excursion
McCunn had lived five months on the Brooks Range in 1976. In March 1981, he hired a bush pilot to drop him off at a remote, unnamed lake approximately northeast of Fairbanks, approximately west of the Coleen River and north of Fort Yukon, Alaska, on the southern margin of the Brooks Range. McCunn intended to photograph wildlife for about five months. On this trip, he flew in with 500 rolls of film, of provisions, two rifles, and a shotgun. Believing he would not need them, he prematurely disposed of five boxes of shotgun shells in the river near his camp. He began his stay entranced by the local wildlife, which were returning to their summer grounds.
Although McCunn thought he had arranged for a friend who was a pilot to return for him in August, he apparently had never confirmed this. McCunn had hired an air taxi service to fly him in and was expecting the friend to pick him up as he did not have enough money to pay for air taxi service out; however, McCunn compounded the error by never telling his friend he had hired the air taxi service to fly him to the remote location. The inbound air taxi pilot later testified "we had instructions he was to be picked up by a friend of his before winter set in, with a float plane." As the weather grew colder and his supplies began running low in early August, when the expected plane had not arrived, he wrote in his diary, "I think I should have used more foresight about arranging my departure. I'll soon find out." Apparently McCunn's pilot friend had told McCunn that he might be working in Anchorage at the end of the summer and that McCunn should not count on his help; according to the pilot friend, McCunn had given him money to repair his plane and to fly him into (but not out of) the remote site. McCunn's campsite also was off the regular air traffic route, so he could not count on any planes passing by.
By mid-August, it became obvious to McCunn that his pilot friend was not going to retrieve him. At this point he attempted to make his provisions last longer by shooting local game. He shot ducks and muskrats and tried drying the meat of a caribou he observed die in the lake. The weather stayed warm, above , but it began to rain constantly, with winds blowing from the south. At this point, McCunn's diary indicated his hope that his family or friends would send someone to look for him after he failed to return. He had sent three maps with his campsite marked to some friends and his father, but was not clear about his exact itinerary. Although his father knew he would be in the area, he did not know when McCunn planned on returning. McCunn had also told his father not to be concerned if he did not return at the end of the summer, as he might stay later in the season if things went well. After McCunn was late to return from a prior trip, his concerned father had contacted the police; McCunn had asked his father not to do that again. McCunn's friends testified at the inquest they were not concerned as they believed he had already come out and was working in Paxson.
Sighting
An Alaska State Trooper flew over the lake in late August and observed McCunn's campsite. The pilot did not sense McCunn was in distress, since he waved his orange sleeping bag very casually and, on his third pass of the campsite, he saw McCunn casually walking back to his tent. The State Trooper later testified he saw no reason to surmise McCunn needed any assistance.