Coast Guard, Girdwood VFD Tried Unsuccessfully To Rescue Paddleboarder In Turnagain

Bore Tides At Turnagain Claim The Life Of Another Paddleboarder 

Warning sign in a pullout on Turnagain Arm on the Seward
Highway, south of Anchorage. (Photo by Country Journal, August 2022) 

Location: Turnagain Arm

Type: Search and Rescue / Death Investigation

Dispatch Text:

On June 19, 2024, the Alaska State Troopers were notified that an adult male paddleboarder was being swept away in Turnagain Arm near mile 92 of the Seward Highway. The Girdwood Volunteer Fire Department was already on scene, and the US Coast Guard was contacted and assumed responsibility for the search and rescue effort. 

On June 20, around 3:00 pm, the US Coast Guard suspended search efforts for 25-year-old Anchorage resident Joshua Novakovich. The incident was then referred as a missing persons investigation to the Alaska State Troopers. Multiple groups of volunteers, including the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group and Alaska Dive Search, Rescue, and Recovery Team, searched on June 20 and June 21. At around 7:45 pm on June 21, the Alaska State Troopers were notified of a potential sighting. Alaska DPS HELO 3 responded from Anchorage and recovered Novakovich's body from a sandbar. He was transported to the State Medical Examiner's Office for autopsy, and his next of kin have been notified. 

Posted on 6/22/2026 8:10:55 AM by DPS\ajmcdaniel