UPDATE: University of Kentucky spokesperson Jay Blanton released the following statement on July 7, written by Dr. Scott Black, University Health Service Clinical Director.
“We are deeply saddened and heartbroken over the tragic passing of Dr. Marites “Tess” Buenafe. Dr. Buenafe was a beloved physician by both her co-workers and her patients at University Health Service (UHS) at the University of Kentucky where she had worked for nearly 10 years. She was known for her compassion, her love of the outdoors and her many interests and talents outside of medicine including being an accomplished pianist and learning the guitar. Her dedication to patient care, her thoroughness as a physician and her caring and kind spirit will be truly missed,” Black wrote.
A University of Kentucky Health Service physician went missing while hiking in Alaska on Tuesday, July 1.
Marites Buenafe, 62, “a five-foot woman weighing about 118 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes,” was on her weeklong trip on the Norwegian Bliss, a cruise departing from Seattle, CBS News reported.
Buenafe’s body was found on July 3 just before noon by an Alaska Army National Guard helicopter crew, approximately 1,700 feet below the ridge line of Gold Ridge, according to a daily dispatch from the Alaska Department of Public Safety.
Buenafe disembarked from the ship on Tuesday morning and texted family members that she was going to hike Gold Ridge to Gastineau Peak, according to the daily dispatch.
Buenafe was heading up to the Mount Roberts Tramway at 7:30 a.m. She was reported missing around 3:15 p.m., several hours after the ship was scheduled to leave at 1:30 p.m., prompting Alaska Wildlife Troopers to be called five minutes later.
Juneau Mountain Rescue, a non-profit volunteer rescue team, conducted the search for Buenafe using thermal drones on July 1, along with aerial support from the U.S. Coast Guard, according to the news release.
On July 2, search operations continued with a dozen volunteers from the Juneau Mountain Rescue team, as well as Southeast Alaska Dogs for Organized Ground (SEADOGS) Search, another non-profit volunteer rescue organization.
On July 3, the searches expanded “using drones, K-9s, and ground teams, with no signs of Marites,” the daily dispatch said.
Troopers and Juneau Mountain Rescue were able to recover her body with the assistance of Temsco Helicopters and the National Guard. Her next of kin have been notified, and her body will be sent to the state medical examiner’s office for autopsy.
The University of Kentucky has declined to comment at this time.
