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Four Nunam Iqua Children Reunite With Family, Most Severely Injured Boy's Condition Improving

Two of the boys found in the snow 18 miles south of Nunam Iqua will return home with their mother after being released from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation, according to the mother's sister, Fannie Camille.
Matt Scott

All four boys who were found huddled in the snow near Nunam Iqua have reunited with their family. The condition of the most severely injured of the children has improved since a day earlier. 

After the boys were initially found, 7 year-old Ethan Camille was immediately transported to Anchorage, where he is receiving treatment at the Alaska Native Medical Center. His mother, Irene Camille, who is the grandmother of the other three boys, is with him. Talking with KYUK over the phone on Friday, Feb. 7, she said that that he is doing well, and that he has bandages over his hands, but is moving around.

The oldest of the boys, 14-year-old Christopher Johnson, was also flown into Anchorage on Feb. 5, according to his grandmother. She said that he suffered a hernia fighting to get the snowmachine and his younger siblings out of the snow, but that he is also doing well and is being taken care of by his dad, Frank Johnson Jr. 

The other two boys, 8-year-old Frank Johnson III and 2-year-old Trey Camille, were released from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Health Corporation earlier this week and returned to Nunam Iqua with their mother, Karen Camille, according to Karen’s sister, Fannie Camille. 

The boys’ mother and grandmother flew from Nunam Iqua to visit the boys on Thursday, Feb. 6, according to Fannie. She said that they were unable to fly to Bethel any earlier because poor weather prevented planes from flying to Nunam Iqua earlier in the week. 

Karen Camille has started a GoFundMe fundraiser for travel, clothing, and meals to “be with my babies.”

An earlier version of this story stated that the oldest boy, Christopher Johnson, was still at YKHC in Bethel. His grandmother, Irene Camille, has since stated that he was transported to Anchorage to treat his hernia. She said this on the morning of Friday, Feb. 7, as she was driving over to see him.
An earlier version of this story stated that Irene Camille was 7-year-old Ethan Camille's grandmother. She is actually Ethan's mother and the grandmother of Christopher Johnson, 14, Frank Johnson, 8, and Trey Camille, 2. 

Greg Kim was a news reporter for KYUK from 2019-2022.