George Ryan Johnson

Johnson, circa 2018

  • Missing Since 03/05/2018
  • Missing From Juneau, Alaska
  • Classification Lost/Injured Missing
  • Sex Male
  • Race White
  • Age 34 years old
  • Height and Weight 5'9, 165 pounds
  • Distinguishing Characteristics Caucasian male. Brown hair, brown eyes. Johnson goes by his middle name, Ryan.

Details of Disappearance

Johnson and a fellow mountain climber, Marc-Andre Leclerc, disappeared on March 5, 2018, while climbing the Mendenhall Towers, twelve miles from Juneau, Alaska. They posted on Instagram that day, saying they had completed a new route on the north face of the 6,910-foot Main Tower.

They were due to return from their climb on March 7, but never arrived and were reported as overdue. There was a significant snowstorm in the area by the time, and neither of the climbers had a satellite phone or emergency beacon.

The search began on March 8. Searchers found a cache of ski equipment left by the men below the peak. They also saw an intact anchor rope at the top of an ice shoot in the Fourth Tower, and two climbing ropes in a crevasse midway down the Fourth Tower. They never found Johnson and Leclerc, however, and on March 14 the search was called off.

Leclerc and Johnson are noted for being two of the best climbers in North America, and both have won awards for their mountaineering achievements. Authorities believe their bodies are in the crevasse where the climbing ropes were seen.

Updated 1 time since October 12, 2004. Last updated March 10, 2019; casefile added.