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APD says photos do not prove Alaska Native woman was murdered by Brian Smith

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APD says photos do not prove Alaska Native woman was murdered by Brian Smith


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Nearly five years after Cassandra Boskofsky went missing, Anchorage police say more evidence is needed despite strong belief from the Alaska Native woman’s family and supporters that pictures taken off convicted murderer Brian Smith’s cell phone prove Smith also murdered Boskofsky.

Anchorage Police Detective Capt. Bianca Cross confirmed to Alaska’s News Source Monday that earlier this month, APD Detective Brendan Lee showed Cassandra’s cousin Marcella Boskofsky-Grounds and aunt Terri Boskofsky graphic photos from the cell phone of Smith, who was found guilty of murdering two Alaska Native women, Kathleen Henry, 30, and Veronica Abouchuk, 52, in February.

“I do believe strongly that she is another victim of Brian Steven Smith,” Boskofsky-Grounds said. “He (Detective Lee) asked me if I could look at another photograph that was actually in Brian Steven Smith’s phone … I looked through FaceTime and I could see that through FaceTime that yes, it was Cassandra.

“I just instantly started crying.”

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According to an affidavit, Boskofsky-Grounds said the last time she saw her cousin was on Aug. 3, 2019.

Twenty-three days later, she filed a missing persons report.

The family brought their concerns public Friday at a protest. They continue to wonder why it was not until this month when they were first informed about photos found on Smith’s phone — photos that were possibly of Cassandra.

Missing and Murdered Indigenous People advocate Antonia Commack joined the Boskofsky family at the protest.

Commack said as she and former Anchorage police officer Michael Livingston closely followed the Smith case, they noticed court documents in February started to mention a third unidentified woman, and immediately started asking questions.

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Eventually, Commack and Livingston say their questions led to police releasing a sketch and three pictures of the woman retrieved from Smith’s phone. They also say they urged police to contact the Boskofsky family so they could also view the photos.

“It’s disheartening that it took five years for them to do that and we identified her within an hour,” Commack said. “The fact that their family had to wait that long to have confirmation that their loved one is dead, is just it’s — I don’t even, I have a hard time finding the words because it makes me so angry.”

However, APD’s Cross said without hard evidence, there is no confirmation.

While the Boskofsky family may strongly feel the photos show Cassandra, Cross said that is not enough proof to determine if Cassandra is dead, which the police captain said is why photos were not immediately shown to the Boskofsky family.

On July 19, calling it a matter of closure, Boskofsky-Grounds said she filed a presumptive death petition in Anchorage Superior Court.

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Boskofsky-Grounds said she believes the officially unidentified woman from the photos is her cousin Cassandra.

In her email to Alaska’s News Source on Monday, Cross said nothing can be officially signed off on without forensic evidence.

“We were cognizant we would not be able to confirm the identity regardless of what the family believed, and that idea (of not being in a position to confirm) could be just as detrimental. Other names were suggested by various law enforcement, but again, no certainty,” Cross stated. “We believed it was better for the family to hear what we knew — as opposed to what people believed and put out in the public — without context or more information.”

A $500 reward remains for any information that leads to the discovery of Cassandra. Information can be reported anonymously at alaskathemissing@gmail.com .

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Alaska

Dozens of vehicle accidents reported, Anchorage after-school activities canceled, as snowfall buries Southcentral Alaska

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Dozens of vehicle accidents reported, Anchorage after-school activities canceled, as snowfall buries Southcentral Alaska


ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) – Up to a foot of snow has fallen in areas across Southcentral as of Tuesday, with more expected into Wednesday morning.

All sports and after-school activities — except high school basketball and hockey activities — were canceled Tuesday for the Anchorage School District. The decision was made to allow crews to clear school parking lots and manage traffic for snow removal, district officials said.

“These efforts are critical to ensuring schools can safely remain open [Wednesday],” ASD said in a statement.

The Anchorage Police Department’s accident count for the past two days shows there have been 55 car accidents since Monday, as of 9:45 a.m. Tuesday. In addition, there have been 86 vehicles in distress reported by the department.

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Snow measuring up to 17 inches deep in Anchorage, Alaska, on Jan. 6, 2026.(Alaska’s News Source)

The snowfall — which has brought up to 13 inches along areas of Turnagain Arm and 12 inches in Wasilla — is expected to continue Tuesday, according to latest forecast models. Numerous winter weather alerts are in effect, and inland areas of Southcentral could see winds up to 25 mph, with coastal areas potentially seeing winds over 45 mph.

Up to a foot or more of snow has fallen across Southcentral Alaska, with more snow expected...
Up to a foot or more of snow has fallen across Southcentral Alaska, with more snow expected through the day.(Alaska’s News Source)

Some areas of Southcentral could see more than 20 inches of snowfall by Wednesday, with the Anchorage and Eagle River Hillsides, as well as the foothills of the Talkeetna Mountain, among the areas seeing the most snowfall.

See a spelling or grammar error? Report it to web@ktuu.com



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Yundt Served: Formal Charges Submitted to Alaska Republican Party, Asks for Party Sanction and Censure of Senator Rob Yundt

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Yundt Served: Formal Charges Submitted to Alaska Republican Party, Asks for Party Sanction and Censure of Senator Rob Yundt


Sen. Rob Yundt

On January 3, 2026, Districts 27 and 28 of the Alaska Republican Party received formal charges against Senator Rob Yundt pursuant to Article VII of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.

According to the Alaska Republican Party Rules: “Any candidate or elected official may be sanctioned or censured for any of the following
reasons:
(a) Failure to follow the Party Platform.
(b) Engagement in any activities prohibited by or contrary to these rules or RNC Rules.
(c) Failure to carry out or perform the duties of their office.
(d) Engaging in prohibited discrimination.
(e) Forming a majority caucus in which non-Republicans are at least 1/3 or more of the
coalition.
(f) Engaging in other activities that may be reasonably assessed as bringing dishonor to
the ARP, such as commission of a serious crime.”

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Party Rules require the signatures of at least 3 registered Republican constituents for official charges to be filed. The formal charges were signed by registered Republican voters and District N constitutions Jerad McClure, Thomas W. Oels, Janice M. Norman, and Manda Gershon.

Yundt is charged with “failure to adhere and uphold the Alaska Republican Party Platform” and “engaging in conduct contrary to the principles and priorities of the Alaska Republican Party Rules.” The constituents request: “Senator Rob Yundt be provided proper notice of the charges and a full and fair opportunity to respond; and that, upon a finding by the required two-thirds (2/3) vote of the District Committees that the charges are valid, the Committees impose the maximum sanctions authorized under Article VII.”

If the Party finds Yundt guilty of the charges, Yundt may be disciplined with formal censure by the Alaska Republican Party, declaration of ineligibility for Party endorsement, withdrawal of political support, prohibition from participating in certain Party activities, and official and public declaration that Yundt’s conduct and voting record contradict the Party’s values and priorities.

Reasons for the charges are based on Yundt’s active support of House Bill 57, Senate Bill 113, and Senate Bill 92. Constituents who filed the charges argue that HB 57 opposes the Alaska Republican Party Platform by “expanding government surveillance and dramatically increasing education spending;” that SB 113 opposes the Party’s Platform by “impos[ing] new tax burdens on Alaskan consumers and small businesses;” and that SB 92 opposes the Party by “proposing a targeted 9.2% tax on major private-sector energy producer supplying natural gas to Southcentral Alaska.” Although the filed charges state that SB 92 proposes a 9.2% tax, the bill actually proposes a 9.4% tax on income from oil and gas production and transportation.

Many Alaskan conservatives have expressed frustration with Senator Yundt’s legislative decisions. Some, like Marcy Sowers, consider Yundt more like “a tax-loving social justice warrior” than a conservative.

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Pilot of Alaska flight that lost door plug over Portland sues Boeing, claims company blamed him

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Pilot of Alaska flight that lost door plug over Portland sues Boeing, claims company blamed him


The Alaska Airlines captain who piloted the Boeing 737 Max that lost a door plug over Portland two years ago is suing the plane’s manufacturer, alleging that the company has tried to shift blame to him to shield its own negligence.

The $10 million suit — filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court on Tuesday on behalf of captain Brandon Fisher — stems from the dramatic Jan. 5, 2024 mid-air depressurization of Flight 1282, when a door plug in the 26th row flew off six minutes after take off, creating a 2-by-4-foot hole in the plane that forced Fisher and co-pilot Emily Wiprud to perform an emergency landing back at PDX.

None of the 171 passengers or six crew members on board was seriously injured, but some aviation medical experts said that the consequences could have been “catastrophic” had the incident happened at a higher altitude.

Leani Benitez-Cardona, NTSB aerospace engineer, and Matthew Fox, NTSB chief technical advisor for materials, unpacking the door plug Sunday from Alaska Airlines flight 1282, a Boeing 737-9 MAX, in the materials laboratory at NTSB headquarters in Washington, D.C.NTSB

Fisher’s lawsuit is the latest in a series filed against Boeing, including dozens from Flight 1282 passengers. It also names Spirit AeroSystems, a subcontractor that worked on the plane.

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The lawsuit blames the incident on quality control issues with the door plug. It argues that Boeing caught five misinstalled rivets in the panel, and that Spirit employees painted over the rivets instead of reinstalling them correctly. Boeing inspectors caught the discrepancy again, the complaint alleges, but when employees finally reopened the panel to fix the rivets, they didn’t reattach four bolts that secured the door panel.

The complaint’s allegations that Boeing employees failed to secure the bolts is in line with a National Transportation Safety Board investigation that came to the conclusion that the bolts hadn’t been replaced.



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