Body found on Kenai beach was missing Colorado boater

ANCHORAGE — Alaska authorities have confirmed a body found on a Kenai River beach last week was that of a missing boater from Colorado.

The Peninsula Clarion reports (http://bit.ly/2wqwTPq) the state medical examiner confirmed the man’s identity as Phillip Keltner. The Kenai newspaper reported he lived in Sterling during the summers and in Colorado during the winters.

The 63-year-old Keltner has been missing since he and three others were ejected from a boat in the Kenai River near Soldotna Aug. 4. None was wearing a life jacket. The other three swam to shore, but Keltner was last seen floating downriver.

The body was released to Keltner’s relatives.

The 82-mile (132-kilometer) glacier-fed Kenai River is Alaska’s most heavily fished river. It’s located on the Kenai Peninsula south of Anchorage.

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