Search and rescue responders have located the body of a cruise ship passenger in Juneau who went missing during a hike Tuesday morning. 

The crew of an Alaska Army National Guard helicopter located the body of 62-year-old Kentucky resident Marites Buenafe Thursday just before noon, according to a news release from the Alaska State Troopers. 

Her body was recovered by Troopers and Juneau Mountain Rescue about 1,700 feet below the ridge line of Gold Ridge on Mount Roberts. Buenafe was reportedly last seen on security footage leaving the Goldbelt Tramway on top of the mountain.

She told family members she was leaving the cruise ship, the Norwegian Bliss, to depart for the hike alone on Tuesday morning. She did not return before the ship’s departure later that afternoon. Responders began conducting ground and aerial searches later that evening. 

Conditions on the mountain were cloudy and rainy on Tuesday and Wednesday. 

According to troopers, her body will be sent to the state medical examiner’s office for an autopsy. Her next of kin have been notified. 

Of the two Lower 48 teams competing in the Alaska 529 Midseason Classic in Anchorage this weekend, the one that had the farthest to travel was the Madisonville Post 8 Rangers from Kentucky.

Last September, head coach/manager Jamie Mills proposed the idea of making the trek from Madisonville, Kentucky, to Alaska to the parents of the American Legion squad before getting his players’ hopes up too high.

“I didn’t know who would be on board because it is a long trip,” he said. “I sent it out in our group messaging and immediately I got back like, six ‘Let’s do its,’ so here we are.”

After eight months of planning and fundraising, they were able to make it happen.

“I love the weather,” Mills said. “I could live like this but the darkness in the wintertime, I think that would freak me out a little bit.”

One of the biggest adjustments he and his players had to make was finding a way to deal with the nearly endless daylight that comes with Alaska summers.

“The guys have been blacking out the curtains and making sure it’s total darkness so we can go to sleep because it doesn’t get totally dark outside here,” Mills said.

In preparation for the trip, he had been tracking the forecast in different parts of Alaska for the last month. The members of the traveling party were limited to one duffel bag and a backpack, so they wanted to ensure they knew what kind of clothes to pack.

The Rangers have been enjoying and exploring the 49th state as much as they can when not competing for tournament titles.

“We’ve been playing a lot of baseball, so it’s been kind of difficult, because it’s kind of hard to go anywhere,” Mills said.

The first leg of the journey started more than a week ago in Kenai at the Lance Coz Wood Bat tournament. The team won the tourney, and it was also the stop where they went on the most excursions.

“We went to Whittier one day and saw that place, and we did a lot of sightseeing,” Mills said. “We haven’t done a whole lot of stuff (in Anchorage). We went to some parks and a couple of guys went to go see a glacier with their parents.”

Since their Saturday game against Dimond wasn’t scheduled until 7:30 p.m., they were able to get some fishing in.

This trip was the first to Alaska for every team member, and for many of them, it was also the first time they’d ever been on a plane.

“We were a little nervous about it and had Dramamine prepared and packed just in case anybody got sick,” Mills said. “Of the 18 guys, there are probably about 10 of them that this was their first time flying.”

One of those nearly dozen first-time flyers and visitors to Alaska was outfielder and left-handed pitcher Jax Lee, who just finished up his senior season and is set to play baseball in college.

“It was actually pretty cool,” he said. “I was a little nervous but once we got on the plane and took off, I was just fine.”

Prior to this trip, the farthest Lee had ever been from Kentucky was Florida — a nine- to 11-hour drive from where they live.

“The weather has been great and nature, it’s all been beautiful out here,” Lee said. “I kind of expected it, and I brought warm clothes and was just super excited to get out here.”

He has enjoyed activities such as visiting Kincaid Park, going fishing and exploring the wilderness.

Impressions of Alaska competition

Mills wasn’t sure what to expect regarding the quality of baseball talent that Alaska would have to offer when he was planning the trip. After seeing what it’s like for the past week-plus, he admitted to being thoroughly impressed.

“A lot of these teams are a lot younger than we are but they are very well-instructed,” Mills said. “They know baseball, the defense has been phenomenal, they all hit the ball.”

His team started off slow in its Friday afternoon matchup with reigning state American Legion champion Service at Mulcahy Stadium but were able to stage a late comeback, winning 8-4.

Since the Rangers have been in Alaska for over a week, Mills said jet lag isn’t a good excuse for not being at their best earlier in the game.

“That seems to be our problem in this tournament, and I don’t know if it’s because of a lack of sleep at night or what, but it’s taken us a long time to wake up and get the bats going,” he said. “We’ve scored a lot of runs and we’ve had a couple of games where we haven’t been able to get the bats going.”

Mills had to “light a little fire” under his team about halfway through the game because he believed their defense was “lackluster and the pitching wasn’t there.”

“We kind of struggled through pitching but in the endgame, these guys showed up in one inning to win the ballgame and I’m super proud of them,” he said.

The spark they were desperately in need of came from Lee in the bottom of the sixth inning.

With the bases loaded and no outs, he recorded a bases-clearing double to cut Service’s lead to one run. He was then brought in for the game-tying run on an RBI double from teammate Brooks Lynam.

“I was expecting a curveball because on my first at-bat, I struck out to it looking down,” Lee said. “I was just hoping to take it up the middle and do my job for the team.”

The Rangers’ bats stayed hot as they scored four more runs before the frame was over.

“The pitcher was struggling to throw strikes and we just took over, finding gaps and hitting the ball,” Lee said.

Most of the players on the team are 17 and 18 years old with a dozen heading off to college to play ball this fall.

Lee is one of the leaders who Mills depends on, and he believes “sometimes it takes those guys to motivate the other guys.”

“It’s pretty fun just being with the team, enjoying the times together and just having fun,” Lee said.

High School

Legion AA Baseball

Monday

Ketchikan 5, East 2

Central Point 7, Fairbanks 0

Palmer 4, Wasilla 1

Juneau 13, West 3

Dimond 10, Chugiak 4

Tuesday

Central Point 6, Ketchikan 2

Madisonville (KY) 10, Palmer 8

Wasilla 6, Madisonville (KY) 1

Klamath Falls (OR) 12, Palmer 1

Klamath Falls (OR) 10, Wasilla 0

Service 2, Juneau 1

Wednesday

Madisonville (KY) 16, Klamath Falls (OR) 4

Klamath Falls (OR) 7, Madisonville (KY) 1

Central Point (OR) 10, Fairbanks 0

Central Point (OR) 4, Fairbanks 1

East 3, Ketchikan 0

Thursday

Klamath Falls (OR) 14, South 2

Chugiak 11, South 4

Service 11, Dimond 0

West 6, Madisonville (KY) 6 (tie)

Friday

West 9, Dimond 5

Madisonville (KY) 8, Service 4

Kenai 10, South 6

Klamath Falls (OR) 10, Chugiak 5

Saturday

Kenai 5, Chugiak 5 (tie)

Fairbanks 9, East 6

Klamath Falls (OR) 4, Kenai 4 (tie)

Service vs. West (late)

Dimond vs. Madisonville (KY) v. Dimond (late)

• • •

Alaska Baseball League

Sunday

Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 12, Mat-Su Miners 9

Monday

Anchorage Glacier Pilots 9, Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 6

Mat-Su Miners 11, Anchorage Bucs 9

Tuesday

Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 11, Anchorage Bucs 2

Mat-Su Miners 5, Anchorage Glacier Pilots 0

Wednesday

Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 10, Mat-Su Miners 8

Anchorage Glacier Pilots 5, Anchorage Bucs 2

Thursday

Anchorage Bucs 14, Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks 3

Mat-Su Miners 13, Anchorage Glacier Pilots 3

Friday

Mat-Su Miners 5, Anchorage Bucs 3

Saturday

Anchorage Glacier Pilots v. Chugiak-Eagle River Chinooks (late)

• • •

2025 Rainbow Run

Women

1. Shira Ellenson, Franklin, VA 23:16; 2. Jennifer McGrath, Anchorage, AK 24:47; 3. Kristin Riall, Nome, 26:08; 4. Rosemary Reynolds, Anchorage, AK 26:29; 5. Emma Korosei, Anchorage, AK 26:40; 6. Frances Esson, Houston, TX 27:39; 7. Marci Cartier, Anchorage, AK 28:15; 8. Jenni Grunblatt, Anchorage, AK 28:55; 9. Jen Novobilski, Anchorage, AK 29:07; 10. Allison Lamb, Anchorage, AK 29:39; 11. Michelle Cox, Anchorage, AK 29:53; 12. Kayla Scherf, Anchorage, AK 30:00; 13. Elayna Tunney, Anchorage, AK 30:01; 14. Annika Gagnon, Palmer, AK 30:01; 15. Jaime Bronga, Anchorage, AK 30:13; 16. Kira Fagerstrom, Wasilla, AK 30:38; 17. Mari Rueter, Anchorage, AK 30:40; 18. Janet Johnston, Anchorage, AK 30:46; 19. Elizabeth Sharpe, Anchorage, AK 31:14; 20. Therine Gardner, Anchoragege, AK 31:14

Men

1. Daniel Harren, Anchorage, AK 19:51; 2. Ira Slomski-Pritz, Anchorage, AK 23:12; 3. Dan Poulson, Anchorage, AK 24:12; 4. Loren Holmes, Anchorage, AK 25:00; 5. Thomas Mack, Anchorage, AK 25:27; 6. JJ Jackson, Anchorage, AK 27:09; 7. Matthew Jenkins, Anchorage, AK 27:09; 8. Peter VanDyne, Anchorage, AK 27:12; 9. Chris Sharpe, Anchorage, AK 27:14; 10. Burke Anderson, Anchorage, AK 27:25; 11. Ryan Peltier, Anchorage, AK 27:25; 12. Brian Mulligan, Anchorage, AK 27:38; 13. Russell Nelson, Anchorage, AK 27:42; 14. Matthew Roberts, Feura Bush, NY 27:45; 15. Mark Meinen, Anchorage, AK 28:15; 16. Connor Priest, Anchorage, AK 28:38; 17. Abraham Hartsell, Minneapolis, MN 28:53; 18. Tanner Randall, Anchorage, AK 28:59; 19. Bryan Mulkern, Anchorage, AK 29:12; 20. Nicholas Phillips, Anchorage, AK 29:15

• • •

2025 HRT K9 – We Got Your 6K

Women’s 6K

1. Shantel Wiley, Soldotna, AK 38:52; 2. Olivia Acosta, Chugiak, AK 39:12; 3. Anthea Acosta, Chugiak, AK 39:12; 4. Paige Mason, Anchorage, AK 42:02; 5. Karen Anderson, Wasilla, AK 42:07; 6. Kayla Gum, Palmer, AK 44:59; 7. Nicole Ratchford, Jber, AK 46:12; 8. Andilea Weaver, Palmer, AK 47:02; 9. Katarina Grover, Wasilla, AK 47:30; 10. Cassie Sheridan, Girdwood, AK 47:46; 11. Samantha Ackerly, Palmer, AK 51:00; 12. Sherrille Van Horn, Wasilla, AK 51:17; 13. Cheryl Jones, Wasilla, AK 51:24; 14. Georgia Pfile, Wasilla, AK 54:03; 15. Ali Spealman, Wasilla, AK 54:03; 16. Charla Lee, Wasilla, AK 56:01; 17. Amanda Weidman, Wasilla, AK 58:45; 18. Sabrina Partridge, Anchorage, AK 1:00:50; 19. Emily Bartholomew, Wasilla, AK 1:02:54; 20. Marie Lebron, JBER, Anchorage, AK 1:02:54; 21. Carolyn Ballain, Big Lake, AK 1:02:54; 22. Holly Payne, Anchorage, AK 1:02:57; 23. Angela Parreira, Palmer, AK 1:03:38; 24. Denali Partridge, Anchorage, AK 1:04:23; 25. Kendyl Ligman, Wasilla, AK 1:04:28; 26. Renee Ligman, Wasilla, AK 1:04:28; 27. Melissa Anderson, Anchorage, AK 1:06:07; 28. Alyssa Simmons, Anchorage, AK 1:10:53; 29. Angela Simmons, Anchorage, AK 1:13:33

Men’s 6K

1. Maximus Tagle-Martinez, Jber, AK 27:20; 2. Gavin Hanks, Eagle River, AK 27:50; 3. Nathan Smith, Eagle River, AK 27:52; 4. Brian Delort, Wasilla, AK 28:05; 5. Eoin Youngblood, Palmer, AK 29:03; 6. Kody Worley, Wasilla, AK 33:25; 7. Connor Doneghy, Palmer, AK 38:15; 8. Brandon Martin, Anchorage, AK 42:01; 9. Joel Currier, Palmer, AK 44:34; 10. Charles Simmons, Anchorage, AK 52:07; 11. Elric Weidman, Wasilla, AK 58:30; 12. Joseph Parreira, Palmer, AK 1:03:38; 13. Walter Weidman, Wasilla, AK 1:07:21

Women’s 1 Mile

1. Diana Smith, Eagle River, AK 08:57; 2. Meghan Smith, Eagle River, AK 09:51; 3. Ruth Smith, Eagle River, AK 11:28; 4. Laina Worley, Wasilla, AK 12:05; 5. Kalina Mahlev, Palmer, AK 14:48; 6. Sara Mahlev, Palmer, AK 15:32; 7. Elsa Benton, Palmer, AK 20:41; 8. Nora Benton, Palmer, AK 21:03; 9. Jamie Benton, Palmer, AK 21:05

Men’s 1 Mile

1. Abel Worley, Wasilla, AK 08:30; 2. Eli Barr, Wasilla, AK 08:30; 3. Thaddeus Benton, Palmer, AK 20:41