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UPDATE: Alaska Officials Investigating Girl's Death In Quinhagak

Krysti Shallenberger
/
KYUK

Alaska State Troopers say that a Quinhagak girl whose body was discovered on March 16 is the victim of homicide.

Troopers say that 10-year-old Ida “Girlie” Aguchak had been reported missing at about 5 p.m. on Monday, March 16. A tribal police officer found her body at the village dump more than two hours later. Aguchak’s family says that someone in the community abducted and murdered her.

According to a Facebook post announcing a crowd-funding campaign to help Aguchak’s family, the girl had not returned home as expected on the night of March 15. The family searched that night and a wider search began the next day, ending when the tribal police officer found her body around 7:30 p.m.

Troopers say that detectives with the Alaska Bureau of Investigation have taken over the case, and investigators flew to Quinhagak on March 18. Spokespersons for the agency refused to answer any questions about the homicide or investigation, including whether there have been any developments or anyone taken into custody. Quinhagak tribal police have instituted a 9 p.m. curfew for the community, which has been in effect since Aguchak’s body was discovered.

In the Facebook post, Quinhagak resident Elizabeth Lynn says that the family demands justice and says that Quinhagak residents are in shock at the “evil brutality and heartlessness of this,” a murder that “one of our own suffered at the hands of a monster.”

 

The family has also asked that Alaskans who want to show support wear Ida “Girlie” Aguchak’s favorite colors, pink and purple, on March 18.

Original story

A girl was found dead on Monday, March 16 in Quinhagak. Her body was found in the dump, according to Tribal Police Officer Will Small. The girl was not identified and her age was not given.

The young girl was reported missing to Alaska State Troopers on March 16 at approximately 5 p.m. A trooper report said that about two hours later, TPOs located her body. The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is now taking over the case.