Tributes flow in for ‘intellectual roughneck,’ missing for 6 days, found deceased

Neil Durco. Photo courtesy of the Alaska State Troopers
Neil Durco. Photo courtesy Will Schrek

When 33-year-old Neil Durco failed to return on time from an overnight camping trip, those close to him immediately knew something was wrong. Durco often sought out difficult, off-trail routes through the Chugach Forest, but he wasn’t a reckless hiker, said Durco’s friend and housemate Taylor Kimbarow.

“Neil is overdue on a camping trip,” Kimbarow noted in an Oct. 9 diary entry. The next day, Kimbarow and five friends ventured into the forest under torrential rains. Rivers that were difficult to cross heading into the forest had swollen by 3 feet by the time the party returned, and had to be crossed as a group, with arms linked. It was then that Kimbarow realized the true gravity of his friend’s predicament, he said.

The day after Kimbarow’s six-person party ventured into the forest, a broad search effort was mounted by Alaska State Troopers, Cordova Police Department, Alaska Rescue Coordination Center, Coast Guard and Army. This investigation would reveal that Durco had last been seen at 2:30 p.m. Oct. 7 at the McKinley Lake Cabin, wearing camouflage and toting a firearm. It would also, ultimately, confirm that Kimbarow’s group had been headed in the right direction: toward a mountainous area northeast of McKinley Lake where Durco’s body would later be discovered by a spotter on a National Guard helicopter.

Durco grew up in Pennsylvania, studying biology before moving to Alaska around 2009. He worked for Prince William Sound Science Center, then joined the commercial fishing industry in 2017. Durco combined a thorough scientific understanding of the natural world with a willingness to dare the often-harsh wilderness around Cordova, Kimbarow said.

“He joined the figure-it-out-on-your-own side of Alaska,” Kimbarow said. “He valued the adventurous aspect of it, but he never lost sight of his roots as a man of science. He was one of those intellectual roughnecks — not just a hardass. He would pause and reflect between the hard work.”

On hikes, Durco was rarely deterred by rugged terrain or bitter weather, and was careful to properly outfit himself beforehand, Kimbarow said. Durco often went hiking solo.

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“He didn’t go alone in spite of people,” Kimbarow said. “He went alone because he didn’t use the fact that nobody else was able to go with him as an excuse not to go. I want that to be known — he wasn’t some rash, irresponsible character. He just wasn’t going to let a nice day go by simply because nobody else wanted to go.”

Dana Smyke discusses search operations with other volunteers. (Oct. 13, 2019) Photo by Zachary Snowdon Smith/The Cordova Times
Dana Smyke discusses search operations with other volunteers. (Oct. 13, 2019) Photo by Zachary Snowdon Smith/The Cordova Times

Cordova quickly mobilized to find Neil Durco. In the twilight hours of Oct. 10, residents gathered at the Cordova Fire Hall to discuss the search effort and draw up plans. Robert Masolini, an experienced outdoorsman who had spent that afternoon scouring the McKinley Lake Trail area, described the difficulty of searching amidst rains that deadened visibility and covered every mossy hillside in flowing water. At the time, storms had grounded a C-130 plane and a helicopter dispatched by the AKRCC.

Searches initially focused to the west of Devil’s Spine, an elevated ridge near McKinley Lake. Rains had rapidly swollen rivers and ponds across the Chugach Forest, and it was possible, searchers speculated, that Durco had been stranded after crossing a body of water and finding himself unable to return across it.

Fresh footprints, believed to have been Durco’s, fired hopes that searchers were on the right track. At the time, it was feared that freezing rain might put a stranded Durco at risk of hypothermia, Masolini said.

During the following days, the search area shifted to the west, continually expanding, said Police Chief Mike Hicks. Areas of dense underbrush were investigated on foot by groups of two-to-four, whereas helicopters were used to search steep, potentially dangerous terrain, he said. On the night of Oct. 11, searchers aerially surveyed the McKinley Lake Trail area using Army night vision equipment capable of detecting light sources like candles or headlamps, yielding no results.

During the first days of the search, volunteers sighted several possible signs of human activity, such as a flash of light or a red-colored object. However, further investigation turned up nothing of note.

“When you’re out in the field, it could be water running over a rock and, when the sunlight hits it just right, you see a flash,” Hicks said. “There might be an old vehicle out there. The sun’s at just the right angle, and you see a flash of light off the windshield.”

Trooper Laura Reid coordinated the search, which sent around 50 volunteers into the field on foot each day. Dana Smyke distinguished himself among volunteer leaders for his decisive but dignified leadership, Kimbarow said.

“You’re not supposed to have stoke, but you are supposed to have fire,” Kimbarow said.

Residents meet at the Cordova Fire Hall to plan the next day’s search efforts. (Oct. 10, 2019) Photo by Zachary Snowdon Smith/The Cordova Times
Residents meet at the Cordova Fire Hall to plan the next day’s search efforts. (Oct. 10, 2019) Photo by Zachary Snowdon Smith/The Cordova Times

Residents unable to go into the field donated food, equipment and money: volunteers gathered at the Cordova Fire Hall on the morning of Sunday, Oct. 13 were greeted by a long buffet of muffins, quiche, nut bars and other breakfast and snack food. A GoFundMe online fundraiser, opened by Cordova Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Cathy Renfeldt, topped $15,000 in less than 24 hours. Within three days, contributions from 290 donors exceeded $22,000.

Kimbarow described the search as the hardest four days of hiking he’d ever undergone. Scaling rugged slopes, grappling with the uncertainty of Durco’s fate and keeping track of their bearings may have left some volunteers traumatized, Kimbarow said.

“On the last day, I looked back at all the people who were walking down the trail — fishermen, mountaineers and biologists — and I thought, I’d put these people on an airplane and take them anywhere in the world to find someone,” Kimbarow said. “And Neil would have been at the forefront of the search if it had been anyone but him.”

Searchers’ uncertainty ended at 1:25 p.m. Oct. 13, when Durco’s body was found at the bottom of a steep chute. Available evidence suggests that Durco died quickly and did not experience prolonged suffering, said Ken Marsh, information officer for the Alaska State Troopers.

“Although it wasn’t the outcome that we’d hoped for, we’re glad that we could bring Neil home to his loved ones,” Hicks said.

In lieu of a traditional memorial service, Durco’s friends gathered on the evening of Tuesday, Oct. 15 for a “bonfire vigil” and potluck at Skater’s Cabin. At the gathering, Kimbarow read aloud Merrit Malloy’s poem “Epitaph,” and remembered Durco’s willingness to lay himself bare to all the experiences life had to offer.

“He had the ability to be affected by others,” Kimbarow said. “Even people he was sort of repulsed by, he could still find a way to finish the conversation by saying something good about them, and he meant it.”

After the vigil, Kimbarow slept soundly for the first time since the search began, he said.

A Saturday, Oct. 19 memorial is planned for Durco in Blakeslee, Pa. An Oct. 26 memorial is also planned in Buffalo, N.Y.


Read previous Cordova Times coverage:

Oct. 13, 2019: Missing hunter found deceased
Oct. 13, 2019: Despite robust search, no sign of missing hunter
Oct 10, 2019: Search narrows for missing hunter
Oct 10, 2019: Air search underway for missing hunter

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