Carl McCunn

By January 19, McCunn's friends became concerned enough to request the authorities begin a search for him; bad weather kept authorities from flying until January 26, when a state trooper flew over McCunn's campsite, seeing no signs of life with the ambient temperature at −46 °F (−43 °C). On February 2, 1982, a ski-equipped plane carrying several State Troopers landed at the lake to check McCunn's campsite. They found his tent zipped shut and, upon cutting it open, discovered his corpse, emaciated and frozen, along with his 100-page diary. A coroner's inquest was held in July 1982.

McCunn's father Donovan gave Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reporter Kris Capps access to the diary and two rolls of film. Excerpts from McCunn's diary were published in December 1982 by The San Antonio Light.

McCunn had lived five months on the Brooks Range in 1976. In March 1981, he hired a bush pilot to drop him off at a remote, unnamed lake approximately 225 miles (362 km) northeast of Fairbanks, approximately 40 mi (64 km) west of the Coleen River and 150 mi (240 km) north of Fort Yukon, Alaska, on the southern margin of the Brooks Range. McCunn intended to photograph wildlife for about five months. On this trip, he flew in with 500 rolls of film, 1,400 pounds (640 kg) of provisions, two rifles, and a shotgun. Believing he would not need them, he prematurely disposed of five boxes of shotgun shells in the river near his camp. He began his stay entranced by the local wildlife, which were returning to their summer grounds.

McCunn was the son of Donovan P. and Erika Hess McCunn. McCunn was born in Munich, Germany, where his father was stationed by the United States Army. He was raised in San Antonio, Texas, graduated from high school in 1964, and enlisted in the United States Navy shortly after dropping out of community college. McCunn served in the Navy for four years and was discharged in 1969. He briefly lived in Seattle, Washington, before settling in Anchorage, Alaska, in 1970.

Carl McCunn (January 25, 1947 – December 18, 1981) was an American wildlife photographer who became stranded in the Alaskan wilderness and eventually died by suicide when he ran out of supplies.