15-year-old vanishes in icy river after snowmobile crash, Alaska troopers say

A 15-year-old boy whose snowmobile fell through a hole into an icy river was found dead, Alaska State troopers reported.

The boy and another youth were snowmobiling on the frozen Kuskokwim River when they ran into an open hole in the ice at 6:08 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, troopers said in a news release.

Cole Gilila, 15, “disappeared under the ice,” while the other youth managed to escape the river, troopers said. He caught a ride from a truck on the nearby ice road.

A clinic in nearby Kalskag found he was “cold but uninjured,” troopers said.

Searchers found Cole’s body in the river at about 8 p.m., troopers said.

Kalskag is about 345 miles west of Anchorage.

This story was originally published January 6, 2025 at 11:14 AM with the headline "15-year-old vanishes in icy river after snowmobile crash, Alaska troopers say."