Tuesday, May 21, 2013
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Why Did Musher Melanie Gould Go Missing?Troopers haven't put a price on the total expenses of the search, but whatever the cost may be, they say it's unlikely that Gould will ever see a bill.Related Content
The search for missing Talkeetna musher Melanie Gould ended successfully on Saturday but there are still plenty of questions about where she was and what she was doing. Alaska State Troopers say they put every resource they had into trying to find the missing musher. For more than five days they worked with dozens of volunteers to scour the air and the ground in the area near Cantwell where her truck was discovered.
A day after the official search was called off Gould contacted troopers, and friends found her a short time later. Troopers are still calculating the cost but say one thing is clear: Mealanie Gould won’t have to pay. In fact, troopers say no one does because there is no law that requires it.
“We are given a budget to do search and rescues in the state and that’s what we work off of,” says Lt. Dave Tugman of the Alaska State Troopers. “There are no state statutes or criminal statutes or civil statutes.”
Troopers say Gould did nothing illegal, even though she apparently knew people were looking for her but avoided them.
They say Gould didn’t asked to be looked for and they won’t discuss if there could be mental health or other issues that prompted her to leave her home with a kennel full of dogs unattended. They do say that letting someone know where she was going and when she planned to return might have spared a lot of worry.
Her friends say they are simply glad to have her back and they are asking now that people respect her privacy.
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Louise Midkiff said on Monday, Feb 13 at 3:32 PM
I don't suppose that it has occurred to anybody that right after Melanie was found two other trucks were located on remote roads without their drivers, only the bodies were later located. Does this sound like a coincidence to anyone but me? Melanie was a strong outdoorswoman; these other two people were not. She lived and they did not. Why am I the only one making this comparison?
81330121Louise Midkiff said on Monday, Feb 13 at 3:20 PM
Jane, her dogs were dispursed to other mushers. You don't understand one single thing about the dog mushing community or you wouldn't be blowing off your mouth. There are issues here that you, nor anyone else who doesn't know Melanie can understand, so it's better to keep your mouth shut and have people thing you're stupid than to open it and remove all doubt.
81329554MayBeeBuzzy said on Wednesday, Jun 22 at 9:59 PM
I think we deserve an explanation.
69494748Jane said on Sunday, Jun 19 at 5:54 PM
Oh yeah - take away her dogs. There is animal abuse laws! There would by MANY interested Junior Mushers that would take the trained dogs off her hands so they dont end up at the animal shelter... Obviously Melanie can NOT take care of herself, so why should she be trused with the lives of 12 dogs?
69299741Jane said on Sunday, Jun 19 at 5:51 PM
Didn't a gentlman in Fairbanks have to pay for his "Ice Hopping" in 2010? Or am I mistaken? Why would she not have to pay for her search and rescue efforts? Blah - at least she is safe... Just wish she would have some consequenses just like the 'rest' of us.
69299642Cynder said on Sunday, Jun 19 at 4:36 PM
Hey heres a tip! If you must comment, try to put coherent sentences together and use proper punctuation. Make some damn sense and even if we disagree with you, we might read your comment anyway! Good grief at our society! Yeesh!
69297184Tim said on Sunday, Jun 19 at 2:31 PM
Well Hank53, looks like your screaming, threats and bad spelling shut people up but you didn't get that apology you wanted. Too bad!!!!!
69293836Hank53 said on Thursday, Jun 16 at 9:08 PM
@Hang um Up In Response To You Proclumation Hang Her High,Don't Let Her Toes Touch The Ground. I Sincerely Hope This Was Sarcastic Humer Directed At The Callus Bantor Against Ms. Gould. If Not You Lieve No Other Option But To Interpret This Statemnt A Terroristic Threat Where By Intervein With Pre-emptive Arrest Of Your Person. Do Reply ASAP!!!
69168203Hank53 said on Thursday, Jun 16 at 8:05 PM
Liked This Site Earlier But Now Resend That, After Viewing Their Comments On This Story On Melanie. It Appears That Their Concerns For Hits And Ratings They Willingly Allow The Baggering On Melanie Demeaner & Charactor. They Have Moderators To Filter Any Comments. As Is Stated In One Post KTVA News Agency, As Any Other, Can Be Held Assessories To The Facts By Providing The Forum By Which These Calious Individuals Are Expressing Themselves Against Melanie. They Are Grievously Misstaken If They Think Their Exclusion Clause At The Bottom Protects From Liabilities. & Feel This Needs Be Stated On This Page. For I'm Sure Those Whom, Who Knows Why, Having The Intent To Cause Malice Againt Mel. So In Preveiwing This. They Receive Fair Warning. Stop & Desist, While Your Ahead. If You Have Nothing Nice To Say, It Would Be Wise Not To Say Anything At All. Anonomous Or Not Your Addresses & Your Comments Are Filed, You Will Be Found And Held, For Damages. Bottom Line.
69166362Tim said on Thursday, Jun 16 at 5:44 PM
My Question would be, If it happens again next month, Would the State go looking for her again without consequence? Her friends would I'm sure. What if it happened a third time? Then what. At what point is she not missing and just wants to be left alone?
69160786Tired of the nonsense said on Thursday, Jun 16 at 2:47 AM
Another runaway bride, but without a groom. Idiotic. And stop making excuses for her.
69106092areukidding said on Wednesday, Jun 15 at 11:23 PM
I helped pay for her search and I demand an explanation. She's not a child that deserves privacy, she clearly knew what was going on and completely disregarded the resources in time, manpower, funding and the safety of others simply for her own needs. If private funding paid for this fine, request privacy, however PUBLIC funding paid for it, it was made public and many of us demand a PUBLIC explanation. You don't get to jack the taxpayers and agencies around and simply walk away.
69102749Hang um Up said on Wednesday, Jun 15 at 2:34 PM
Hang her High, Dont let her toes touch the ground
69079974Me2 said on Wednesday, Jun 15 at 1:58 PM
I think it's really important to point out that the Paypal account they were going to set up was never connected. No money was ever collected for her search. NONE! I was following the FB page since very early on. They did list a couple of charitable organizations that pertained to dogs and/or rescue organizations that people could send money to if they chose. NO ONE WAS ASKED TO and it was clearly stated that any donations made to these organizations would not be used towards this particular search. Anyone who posts differently is lying and is just trying to stir up controversy.
69077837Me2 said on Wednesday, Jun 15 at 1:52 PM
I think it's really important to point out that Bud is a liar. The Paypal account they were going to set up was never connected. No money was ever collected for her search. NONE! The FB page did list a couple of charitable organizations that pertained to dogs and/or rescue organizations that people could send money to if they chose. No one was asked to and it was clearly stated that any donations made to these organizations would not be used towards this particular search. Anyone who posts differently isjust lying and is just trying to stir up controversy.
69077442Kburly said on Wednesday, Jun 15 at 10:59 AM
Any word yet on what happens about the money that was donated to help find this non-missing person? Would that be considered Fraud, or maybe theft due to untruthfull cause?
69063442ME said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 7:07 PM
her friends should shut the hell up and let her tell the people who cared to search for her what the hell happened
69006349yep said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 4:32 PM
Glad they found her. Saying anything else would be petty.
68989289Clementine said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 1:45 PM
Balertwine - I guess those ho ho's have made me the successful musher I am today and shopping at Walmart. It's nice to see that you have found some humour in this - good for you. Oh and Hey Clementine - really? Name calling? Real nice - It's great way to get your point across.
68977676Anonymous said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 1:39 PM
Further, Clementine, as to your statement "Any ethical musher would have NEVER left their dogs without someone reliable to care for them, period," well, it was PRECISELY the fact that she WAS an ethical musher that tipped her friends off right away that something was wrong. The very next day they were looking for her already, and caring for her dogs. She went hungry lost in the woods, not her dogs. Quote from an earlier KTVA news article: "Also out of character was the fact that the seven-time Iditarod musher had left a kennel full of dogs unattended. “She absolutely was devoted to those dogs,” says another long time friend, Amanda Randles. “She's always made sure they are covered even for little things-it just does not mesh up.” So her friends KNEW something had gone terribly wrong with Melanie Gould. So, Clementine, I think you owe Melanie an apology.
68977301Balertwine said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 12:38 PM
Clementine! What a coincidence! I knew a Clementine one time. She never went hiking in the woods with the expectation that it would be a three hour hike and ended up being lost for 11 days. No, the Clementine I knew sat behind her computer typing silly posts to the internet all day long. She was afraid of the woods. Then she got hungry for those little Hostess Ho-Ho's, and said good-bye to her parakeet Tweetie before she went out the door to WalMart. She didn't even leave an apartment key with her neighbor, nor did she tell her neighbor she was going to WalMart. Sure enough, Clementine was kidnapped in the WalMart parking lot by a bizarre Alaskan Latino sect that tied her up and ate her Hostess HoHo's right in front of her face for 11 days. Her parakeet starved, the internet was plastered with posts about how she abandoned her parakeet, meanwhile she didn't get to eat a single HoHo. The Society for the Prevention of Abuse to Sled Dogs and Parakeets was all over her. Hohoho!
68972486shannyn m said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 12:31 PM
You can't get the public worked up and concerned about a person who's hiding under the bed like some 7 year old. We expect silliness from kids, not from adults. Should we not look for the next person who goes missing because they didnt ask us to search for them?
68972022Hey Clementine!! said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 11:38 AM
Yea... the Dogs are OK. That's what's really important here. Moron
68968052Clemintine said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 11:01 AM
Yes, it is all well and good that she is ok. Maybe she was sick, maybe not. Regardless, one cannot just up and leave their dogs with no one to care for them. To assume that her friends can read minds and would care for the dogs is ludicrous. Any ethical musher would have NEVER left their dogs without someone reliable to care for them, period. Is it our business? I would say so considering the dogs cannot speak for themselves. Maybe the dogs will be ok and maybe they won’t. There is a lot of maybes flying around but maybe does not work for dogs who are chained and have no way of getting water, food and proper care. They rely on her to provide that for them. They need certainty – someone who will not let them down regardless of their issues. Just sayin’…
68965712Balertwine said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 10:44 AM
OK, so you people are back at it, protesting because she was found alive instead of raped and murdered or eaten by a bear. Listen, you have no new facts. You have one inflammatory statement that she saw rescuers. You don't know if that's true, you don't know if she had become delusional from being lost so many days without food or water. I saw firsthand my strong mentally sound friend who was capable of laying flat 3 men with his martial arts abilities, become totally delusional after one long excruciatingly exhausting day lost in the mountains. We had to scale a steep mountainside etc, we had no food/water, you would not believe it unless you see it -- the brain does strange things in these conditions. We were hours from death, I kept my wits about me, I saved his life, I kept him from stripping his clothes off in the snow, I kept him from marching off in the totally wrong direction. OK? We made mistakes, it was embarrassing, but we lived. Now, rejoice she survived. Good job! YES!
68964373Bart said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 10:30 AM
SAR is only allocated so much in funds, this needs to carry them through the full season, spending extra time and resources looking for her could cut short future operations. Every mission puts people at risk. ( this women is an IDIOT and has no respect for others... ) thank you to every one who helps on these missions. AMR, Troppers, 210th, Mat-su SAR, RCC etc.
68963419Alaska said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 10:24 AM
The SPCA should take her dogs away in the least, and she should be fined. She was probably hiding because she was on drugs which is not uncommon for drug addicts.
68963084kc said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 9:20 AM
Any time you put that many planes in an air search and that many people on the ground you always have a chance that something can go wrong someone else can get hurt. So if you know that all these people are looking for you and you just hide Thats when it becomes criminalIf she wants the attention to be put on poor ol little Miss Gould then she should be put on the highway system some where with a brite orange suit with a big sign saying Iam Melanie Gould Look at Me!.
68957833Bud Bennett said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 8:48 AM
Sandy you are not correct. My money was taken. I was asked to give a donation to the cause. A cause that was apparently unworthy.
68955608Jeffrey said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 8:23 AM
Privacy is one thing. Dog abandonment is another, also reckless endangerment of SAR dogs and personnel, waste of public funds, etc. Perhaps "there are no laws" in Alaska to enforce responsibility for false-alarm searches. But ARE THERE NO ANIMAL CRUELTY LAWS? Why are Alaska state troopers ignoring the dog abandonment issues? (Afraid of losing Iditarod sponsors, "perhaps"?) Or should we just admit there are no laws in Alaska, full stop -- it's Mad Max-ville!
68953788fishtails said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 6:16 AM
She can do what she wants but it also affected others. Thank god she had someone to watch her dogs without being asked. Otherwise she could be fined for animal neglect also wonder if she could be fined for hindering an investigation.
68944594Lois said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 3:27 AM
So where was she?
68934978ZEEMADMAN said on Tuesday, Jun 14 at 1:44 AM
The Law Needs to be Changed Now! If You know people are looking for You then a Phone Call isn't too much to expect to save the World time, money, effort, & worry. Be unresponsible with Your own resources not everyone elses. Saying You didn't ask them is just a Lame excuse. Like the little boy who kept yelling Wolf, She might just be unhappy if She ever does need help for real. As for it being none of our business, fine, but the Cops need to be told! She gave up the right to Privacy from them by not Calling!
68932919Sandy said on Monday, Jun 13 at 11:13 PM
People,no one took your money. Great news she is physically well & has concerned friends who went the extra mile towards finding her and caring for her dogs. Get some empathy and manners. Or not.
68930649Anonymous said on Monday, Jun 13 at 11:06 PM
Absolutely, Kevin! She brought this upon herself. She can do as she wants, but to knowingly avoid search parties is dishonest and exploitative toward services funded by taxpayers. I do hope she is not mentally ill or anything, but she would have to be in order for their to be any legitimate excuse for this stunt. And now that she is alive and all, are we free to start in with the Conan O'Brian look alike jokes?
68930584T said on Monday, Jun 13 at 10:25 PM
Quit being noisy. She owes no one anything. Why are people be so darn neg., she is alive! That really is all that matters...go about your life so she can go about her's.
68929908MayBee said on Monday, Jun 13 at 10:19 PM
Sick or not... she got her "15 minutes of fame". She has a lot of explaining to do. We all worried about her, and she's all like "la-di-dah". I call bullchit foul. The public deserves an explanation.
68929833Rae said on Monday, Jun 13 at 9:59 PM
Just a FYI because I was following on FB the account to donate never got set up!
68929528obby said on Monday, Jun 13 at 9:57 PM
What she did to her dogs was unconscionable. You don't leave your animals without providing for them. Her friends stepped up but her animals were neglected and that should be addressed. Some states do have laws concerning paying for searches that are caused by people stepping away and letting a search go on. Alaska should consider a similar law.
68929487T said on Monday, Jun 13 at 9:50 PM
Had the outcome been different what would you all be saying? If she is sick let her be, if she is not let her be. As for her dogs, they will be fine, perhaps she knew her friends would take care of them. Everyone is so quick to pass judgment. I only say this because I had a friend who was sick, she was muddling through life ok, until one day her brother said they were taking her dog. The next morning my friend was found floating in a river, for her, her dog was the only reason to keep muddling through. People need to think twice of what they are saying. I am glad she is home, I am glad Mel has friends that care for her and I am glad she has her dogs that will always love her.
68929369Kathy said on Monday, Jun 13 at 9:36 PM
Maybe they could use any left over funds to bankroll a stay at API.
68929097Marc said on Monday, Jun 13 at 9:13 PM
Certainly glad I did not donate on Facebook. That does raise a good question, Crissy. What about all those that did donate?!
68928689Crissy said on Monday, Jun 13 at 8:58 PM
What about the money that her friends raised on Facebook to help for the search?? Will the people that donated money be able to get that back? Or was it just a ruse to get cash?!?!?!?!?!
68928333Kevin said on Monday, Jun 13 at 8:13 PM
I hope the issue of her dogs neglect is addressed.
68926753Kevin said on Monday, Jun 13 at 8:11 PM
She made a public spectacle of herself by avoiding detection. She has forfeited any respect for her privacy in this matter.
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