The search continues for a Saxman man who has been missing since early December. Alaska State Troopers report that Thomas Nelson was last seen on October 20th at the Three Bears convenience store. In an email, Trooper spokesperson Austin McDaniel encouraged the community to reach out with any information.
“We just don’t know where he is. He’s not answering his phone, which is turned off. He hasn’t picked up his heart medications, which he needs so there’s really no way to ping him or find him,” said Lacey Nelson, a niece of the missing man. Nelson said she fears the worst, after three months without a lead. She added that her uncle has suffered from homelessness and mental health issues in the past.
According to Nelson, law enforcement has looked at every possible exit from the island that would require identification and the U.S. Coast Guard sent out information to local boaters to no response. “So you know, he just kind of vanished. We just don’t know what to do.”
Troopers describe Nelson as 61 years old and 6’4” with balding gray hair. His niece describes him as a gentle giant.
“Just such a sweet man with a heart of gold. If he asked me, he would give the shirt off his back,” said the younger Nelson.
Another of Nelson’s family members said he was very involved in local politics and never missed a borough assembly meeting. He is also described as a volunteer at the local homeless shelter and an avid fisherman with over a dozen Coast Guard mariner certificates.
Community members who frequent the gas station all seem to know Nelson and the large white tour bus he lives out of. It is still parked nearby.
Honey Lewis, the manager of Three Bears Fuel and Convenience, told KRBD that she went through the store’s security camera footage going back weeks for evidence of the missing man during the initial investigation.
The last time he appears in the footage is October 20. Lewis remembered Nelson coming into the store and said they had a normal interaction. The only thing she noted was that he didn’t seem properly dressed for the weather. She said the video shows Nelson returning to his bus and then, at some point, “he just vanished.”
Anyone with information is encouraged to contact Alaska State Troopers at (907) 225-5118.
