The Wilderness That Swallows Everything
Forget the Bermuda Triangle, ok well don't, but the Alaska Triangle is a vast, roughly triangular region encompassing some of the most remote and unforgiving wilderness on Earth. It stretches from Anchorage in the south, to Juneau in the southeast, to Utqiaġvik (formerly Barrow) in the far north, covering millions of acres of mountains, glaciers, forests, tundra, and coastline.
It is a beautiful and wild place but, since the 1970s, more than 20,000 people, and hundreds of aircraft, have vanished without a single trace in this zone. No bodies, no wreckage, are ever found, no distress signals are ever sent or heard. The area has one of the highest disappearance rates per square mile in the world, surpassing even the infamous Bermuda Triangle in raw numbers.
The Statistics of Vanishing
Between the 1970s and today, Alaska has seen over 16,000 missing persons cases statewide, with a disproportionate number occurring within the Triangle boundaries. Hundreds of small planes have disappeared, often with experienced pilots and perfect weather conditions.
Key cases include: - 1950: A military C-54 Skymaster with 44 people vanished near Anchorage. No wreckage ever found despite massive search. - 1972: U.S. House Majority Leader Hale Boggs' plane disappeared between Anchorage and Juneau. Largest search in U.S. history (40 days, 40 aircraft, 39,000 square miles) found nothing. - 1990: Cessna 340 with four people vanished near Talkeetna. No debris, no signals. - 2019: Private plane with five aboard disappeared near Denali. Again, no trace.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation and NTSB have logged many of these as unexplained or "cause unknown" with no debris ever recovered. The rate of disappearances is estimated at 2–3 times the national average.
UFOs, Orbs, and Strange Lights
UFO sightings are frequent, especially near military bases (Elmendorf AFB, Fort Richardson, Eielson AFB). In November 1986, Japan Air Lines Flight 1628 (Boeing 747 cargo plane) encountered three objects, one twice the size of an aircraft carrier, over the Triangle. Captain Kenju Terauchi reported them pacing the plane for 50 minutes. FAA and military radar confirmed the objects; one was tracked at 1,200 mph. The case remains one of the best radar-visual UFO incidents.
"It was a gigantic object, twice the size of an aircraft carrier. It had lights running along the side. It paced us for 50 minutes. The radar confirmed it."
– Captain Kenju Terauchi, JAL Flight 1628 (1986)
Glowing orbs and lights are common. In 2018, a Fairbanks family filmed a large orange orb hovering over their home for 20 minutes before shooting upward at incredible speed. In 2020, multiple residents in the Matanuska-Susitna Valley reported clusters of orbs splitting and merging, similar to Hessdalen or Min Min lights.
Pilots frequently report lights pacing aircraft, sudden instrument failures, and objects moving at impossible speeds. In 1995, a bush pilot near Talkeetna described a bright orb that "kept pace with me at 150 knots, then just blinked out."
Portals and Native Legends
Alaska Native tribes (Tlingit, Athabaskan, Inupiat, Yup'ik) have long spoken of "spirit portals", places where the veil between worlds is at its thinest. Shamans describe gateways in mountains, glaciers, and remote valleys where beings enter and exit, sometimes taking people with them.
Traditional stories tell of "spirit lights" (orbs) that guide or lure travellers, "hairy men" (Bigfoot-like beings) guarding sacred sites, and "sky people" who descend in glowing craft. Many modern disappearances occur near these traditional sacred or "dangerous" places.
"Our elders warned us never to go alone into certain valleys. The lights will call you. If you follow, you may not come back the same, or at all."
– Tlingit elder (oral tradition, documented in modern interviews)
Some researchers link the Triangle's extreme geomagnetic activity (Alaska has intense auroral and magnetic fields) to portal-like effects, time slips, or dimensional bleed-through.
Investigations and Legacy
The Alaska Triangle gained national attention through the History Channel series *Alaska Triangle* (2020–present), which documents ongoing cases with investigators, pilots, Native elders, and search teams. Episodes cover missing planes, Bigfoot, UFOs, and portal phenomena.
Loren Coleman (who coined "Bridgewater Triangle") has compared it to other global hotspots. Local pilots and guides refuse to fly certain routes after dark, citing "bad feelings" or past losses.
"I've flown these mountains for 30 years. There are places I won't go anymore. Too many friends never came back. The Triangle takes what it wants."
– Veteran Alaskan bush pilot (interviewed on Alaska Triangle series)
Despite multiple extensive searches, no major breakthroughs have explained the vanishings. The Triangle remains one of the deadliest and most mysterious regions on Earth.
Location / Anomalies:
- Primary area: Triangle from Anchorage to Juneau to Utqiaġvik, Alaska (Coords: approx 61.2181° N, 149.9003° W center)
- Hotspots: Talkeetna, Denali region, Juneau coast, North Slope, Matanuska-Susitna Valley
- Anomalies: Over 20,000 missing persons since 1970s, hundreds of vanished aircraft (no wreckage), Bigfoot/Hairy Man sightings, thunderbirds (20-ft wingspan), glowing orbs/lights, UFOs (JAL Flight 1628 radar case), Native spirit portals, extreme geomagnetic anomalies, no bodies or traces in most disappearances, instrument failures near sightings.
Sources / Balance:
Alaska Bureau of Investigation missing persons statistics
NTSB aviation accident database (Alaska Triangle cases)
JAL Flight 1628 FAA and military radar reports
Loren Coleman and cryptozoology research
Alaska Native (Tlingit, Athabaskan, Inupiat) oral traditions
History Channel Alaska Triangle series interviews
Bush pilot and local resident testimonies
University of Alaska geomagnetic studies
Final Verdict
THE TRIANGLE THAT SWALLOWS THE LIVING. In the frozen vastness of Alaska, a region larger than some countries claims over 20,000 people and hundreds of aircraft since the 1970s have simply vanished without wreckage, without bodies, without explanation. Bigfoot roams the forests, thunderbirds circle the peaks, orbs light the night, and ancient Native portals are said to open in the mountains.
Even today pilots refuse to fly certain routes. Families wait for loved ones who never return. Science finds no answers, only more questions. The Alaska Triangle is not just a place of disappearances, it is a place where the world seems to simply forget what reality is. When planes vanish into clear skies and footprints end in untouched snow on the ground, the question is not how many are lost. The question is: Where do they go… and why does nothing ever come back?