Rangers search for two overdue mountain climbers in Alaska

DENALI NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE, Alaska (AP) — Authorities in Alaska are searching for two overdue climbers in Denali National Park and Preserve, whose last known tracks disappeared at the site of an avalanche. Park officials say Eli Michel of Columbia City, Indiana, and Nafiun Awal of Seattle were last known to be near Moose’s Tooth, a 10,300-foot mountain. The two last checked in with friends via a satellite communications device on Friday. When friends hadn’t heard from them again by Sunday, they contacted rangers. Park rangers followed the climbers’ tracks to a recent small avalanche. An aerial search around the avalanche and a ground search continued Monday.