Man, 20, dies after getting stuck waist-deep in Alaska mud flats and drowning as the tide comes in

A 20-year-old man from Illinois drowned after he became stuck in waste-high silt while walking on mud flats in Alaska and rising tides submerged him in water.

Zachary Porter had been walking with friends along the flats when he became caught in the mud on Sunday evening.

After unsuccessful attempts by friends to free him from the silt, authorities were called but rescue teams were also unable to release him in time.

He died around an hour later but his body was not recovered until the next morning, according to Alaska State Troopers.

Zachary Porter, 20, drowned after he became stuck in waste-high silt while walking on mud flats in Alaska and became submerged in water. Pictured is a view across the Turnagain Arm in Alaska

On May 21, Porter and his friends were walking along the Turnagain Arm mud flats near Hope, a small community of about 80 people. Pictured is a view of the small town

On May 21, Porter and his friends were walking along the Turnagain Arm mud flats near Hope, a small community of about 80 people, an hour-and-a-half drive from Anchorage.

The group were between 50 and 100 feet from shore when Porter became stuck in the softening silt, Girdwood Fire Chief Michelle Weston told Anchorage Daily News. 

State Troopers said one of his friends called 911 immediately after he became stuck, at around 5.45pm. When the first rescue teams arrived soon after 6pm Porter was waist-deep in mud.

Girdwood fire crews and two air ambulances were called to assist local responders at 6.13 pm, said Weston, but when Girdwood crews made it to the scene at around 7pm Porter was already underwater.

One man who tried to save Porter was flown to Anchorage with hypothermia, troopers said. 

The fire department is around 47 miles from where Porter became stuck and Weston said it can take up to an hour to drive there.

Weston told Alaska Public Media that mud rescues can take 10 to 30 minutes so getting help quickly is crucial.

'There needs to be a threshold of time between when someone's stuck to when the crew gets there and arrives and then for the crew to actually work to get the person unstuck,' she said. 'And it's a race, usually, against what the tide is doing.'

The Turnagain Arm is a 48-mile-long estuary carved out by glaciers that travel southeast from the Anchorage area and which parallels a major highway that often takes tourists south from Anchorage.

At low tide, the estuary is known for its dangerous mud flats of silt created by glacier-pulverized rocks.

A 20-year-old man from Illinois drowned after he became stuck in waste-high silt while walking on mud flats in Alaska and rising tides submerged him in water

Accidents on the flats are common. Earlier this month, a man was rescued from the mud flats after one leg became stuck and he sank to his waist while fishing near the mouth of Twentymile River.

It has been around ten years since someone last died on the flats.

In 2013, Army Captain Joseph Eros died while trying to cross from Fire Island back to Anchorage. 

In 1988, newlyweds Adeana and Jay Dickison were gold dredging on the eastern end of the arm when her ATV got stuck in the mud, the Anchorage Daily News reported. 

She became stuck when trying to push it out and drowned in the incoming tide.

In 1978, an unnamed Air Force sergeant attempting to cross Turnagain Arm was swept away with the leading edge of the tide. His body was never found, the Anchorage newspaper reported.

'It's big, it's amazing, it's beautiful, and it's overwhelming,' Kristy Peterson, the administrator and lead EMT for the Hope-Sunrise Volunteer Fire Department, said of Alaska. 

'But you have to remember that it's Mother Nature, and she has no mercy for humanity,' she added.

Peterson, who responded to the call, spoke with others in Porter's party but didn't talk to him during the rescue attempt.

'When we respond, we respond with the utmost of good intentions and as mothers and fathers and uncles and brothers,' she said. 'We respond with as much passion and vigor as we can.'

'I have been in contact with all my members, and they're all heartbroken,' Peterson said. 'This is a hard situation.'

At low tide, Turnagain Arm is known for its mud flats that 'can suck you down,' Peterson said. 'It looks like it's solid, but it's not.'

When the tide comes back in, the silt gets wet from the bottom, loosens up and can create a vacuum if a person walks on it. Signs are posted warning people of hazardous waters and mud flats.

'I've really got to warn people against playing the mud,' she said. 'It's dangerous.'

Peterson said they got the rescue call after Porter was in serious trouble, and it takes time to mobilize. Another department - about an hour's drive away - also responded.

Peterson urged people to call 911 as soon as possible.

'If you think that there's an issue, if you think that there even might be an issue, call,' she said. 'Because we can get resources moving, and we would rather turn around and go home than it be a disaster.'