Search for missing journalist Alec Luhn in remote area of Norway will continue today

NORWEGIAN rescue teams will today continue searching for an award-winning environmental journalist missing in Folgefonna national park.

BREAKING NEWS: Helicopter crew find missing journalist Alec Luhn

Search crews were out in force yesterday but last night reported no trace of Alec Luhn – an American citizen living in London, and an experienced hiker and outdoorsman – who is believed to have gone missing while hiking.

He last made contact with his wife, Veronika Silchenko, on Thursday July 31 while he was in Odda, in southwestern Norway. The alarm was raised on Monday night when he failed to board a flight back from Bergen to London.

Authorities in Norway said the weather during that period had been ‘challenging’ due to high winds and rain, but a weather window had opened this morning that would allow for an extended effort.

The Norwegian Red Cross said the search had resumed today in a different area close to one of the park’s three glaciers. Vestland Police said a search using helicopters, drones and specialist dog teams had been called off on Monday evening due to a storm. Yesterday’s attempts found no signs of the 38-year-old, and were also hindered by weather conditions.

Ms Silchenko, also a journalist, explained she was not concerned by the lack of communication at first, due to the remoteness of Folgefonna, and knowing her husband was fit, experienced, and well-equipped for being in the wilderness.

“We exchanged a few texts. He told me that he is going to hike and sent me a picture. He looked fine, the weather was fine,” she said.

“I started to worry slightly on Sunday, but then I thought that it’s Norway and it’s totally normal to be out of connection in the mountains, so I decided to wait and do something if he’s not back online on Monday.

“Alec is basically obsessed with the Arctic. He loves glaciers and snow, and he loves explorers, and he’s a climate journalist, so for him it is always that story now because of the climate change they’re all shrinking, and he’s trying his best to go to the coldest countries.”

Mr Luhn has received several awards and nominations for his environmental reporting, and has worked with The Atlantic, National Geographic, The New York Times, Scientific American, Time magazine, and CBS.

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