FAIRBANKS - A North Pole man is missing and presumed dead after he slipped into the Copper River while dip netting Thursday afternoon.
Lance Jorgensen, 28, a carpenter from North Pole, was fishing from shore at about 12:30 p.m. when he slipped and was pulled under the water by the current, according to Alaska State Troopers.
Mark Hem, the charter operator Jorgensen was with, gave the location as about two-thirds of the way down Wood Canyon.
Several boats and a helicopter searched for him Thursday unsuccessfully. Today troopers are calling off the search because of the low probability that he is still alive, trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said.
“If we thought there was a good chance he was alive it would be a different matter,” she said.
Jorgensen was not wearing a life jacket.
His name has been added to the trooper’s Missing Person Database.
Jorgensen was fishing with his father, who has been notified of the current status of the search, troopers said.
Contact staff writer Sam Friedman at 459-7545.
