Tourist who missed Norwegian cruise ship discovered dead on mountain trail in Alaska

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A tourist who went missing after she failed to return to her cruise ship last week has been found dead.

Marites Buenafe, 62, of Kentucky, was visiting Alaska’s capital city when she did not return from a hike.

The Alaska Department of Public Safety said her body was found by an Alaska Army National Guard helicopter crew late Thursday below the ridge line of Gold Ridge.

Buenafe is listed as a doctor at UK HealthCare, a system of hospitals and clinics of the University of Kentucky.  

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Marites Buenafe, 62, is listed as a doctor for UK HealthCare. Her body was found July 3, 2025, in Alaska.  (Alaska State Troopers)

State troopers and Juneau Mountain Rescue were able to recover Buenafe’s body with help from Temsco Helicopters and the National Guard.

Her family has been notified of her death and her body will be sent to the state’s medical examiner’s office for an autopsy, the Associated Press reported.

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The Norwegian Bliss cruise ship passes through John Hopkins Inlet in Glacier Bay, Alaska on Thursday, July 11, 2019.  (Tim Rue/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

On July 1, the Juneau Police Department heard from Buenafe’s relatives that she had left for a hike that morning and had plans to take a popular tourist tram partially up a mountain overlooking downtown Juneau before walking to Gastineau Peak and Gold Ridge, according to the state Department of Public Safety. 

She had gotten off the Norwegian Bliss and did not return to the vessel by its departure time.

The 62-year-old woman’s relatives called authorities after she failed to return to the cruise ship as it was docked in Juneau, Alaska.  (John Greim/LightRocket via Getty Images)

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“We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of the guest,” a spokesperson for Norwegian Cruise Line said in a statement to Fox News Digital. “Our CARE team is providing support to the guest’s family and our thoughts are with them during this difficult time.”

Fox News Digital’s Julia Bonavita and the Associated Press contributed to this report.