Medical copter may have crashed in fjord

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A body and debris found near Whittier indicate a missing medical helicopter may have crashed in the fjord leading to that Prince William Sound community.

A search helicopter Saturday found the body of John Stumpff, 47, a flight nurse, on the north shore of Passage Canal, about two and a half miles across the fjord from Whittier.

The same crew spotted a helicopter door washed ashore about a mile east of where Stumpff’s body was found.

On Sunday morning, searchers found medical equipment in the same general location.

Drift patterns based on winds, tides and waves in the canal indicate that the Eurocopter BK 117 likely crashed there, said Lt. Col. Tom Bolin of the Alaska Air National Guard.

Pilot Lance Brabham, 42, paramedic Cameron Carter, 25, and patient Gaye McDowell, 60, were also on board the LifeGuard Alaska helicopter that disappeared in blowing snow a week ago on a flight from Cordova to Anchorage.