Overview

Last Seen: December 13, 2023, at approximately 4:07 p.m.

Location: AC Lakeside grocery store shopping center/Orion Sporting Goods area, Sitka, Alaska.

Age When Missing: 28.

Circumstances: Security footage documented Jedidiah leaving the shopping center. He was reported missing two days later and has not been publicly confirmed seen since.

Searches: Police, fire department search-and-rescue personnel, Sitka Tribe of Alaska volunteers and other searchers conducted searches in December 2023. A new potential sighting prompted another search near Blatchley Middle School and the University of Alaska Southeast campus in July 2025.

Result: The searches did not locate Jedidiah or publicly reported evidence establishing what happened to him.

Current Status: Missing; case remains unresolved.

Police Case Number: 23-00591.

Anyone with information that could help investigators determine what happened to Jedidiah should contact the Sitka Police Department.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Jedidiah David Trinity Kowchee: Missing From Sitka, Alaska Since December 2023

Jedidiah David Trinity Kowchee was 28 years old when he disappeared from Sitka, Alaska, on December 13, 2023. More than two years later, his whereabouts remain unknown, and his case continues to be listed as an active missing-person case. Public case records identify the Sitka Police Department as the primary investigating agency and list case number 23-00591.

Last Seen in Sitka

Jedidiah was last seen at approximately 4:07 p.m. on December 13, 2023, leaving the AC Lakeside grocery store shopping center in Sitka. Reporting by KCAW Raven Radio states that security footage from AC Lakeside showed him leaving Orion Sporting Goods around 4 p.m. that afternoon. He was officially reported missing on December 15.

At the time, Jedidiah was described as an American Indian/Alaska Native man, approximately 5 feet 4 inches tall and 155 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. He wore clear-framed eyeglasses and had a mustache. His clothing included a black knit hat, black jacket over a light-colored hoodie, tan khaki pants, and black running shoes with black-and-white soles.

The Search for Jedidiah Kowchee

After Jedidiah was reported missing, authorities, search-and-rescue personnel and community volunteers began looking for him. On December 23 and 24, 2023, the Sitka Police Department, Sitka Fire Department Search and Rescue and Sitka Tribe of Alaska volunteer teams conducted daylight searches. Despite those efforts, authorities reported that they had not located Jedidiah or developed information establishing where he had gone.

By January 2024, police and search crews had developed few leads. Jedidiah’s father, Jerry Kowchee, told KCAW Raven Radio that his son had been living with him since the fall of 2023. Jedidiah enjoyed hiking, but his father said disappearing for an extended period was out of character because his trips were normally day trips and he would return home.

Police said at the time that they were continuing to pursue avenues that might help locate him and stressed that additional information from the public could help direct further searches.

New Information Leads to Another Search in 2025

A significant public development came in July 2025, approximately a year and a half after Jedidiah disappeared.

According to information subsequently reported about the renewed investigation, Jedidiah’s father provided police with information from a woman who believed she might have seen Jedidiah on the night he disappeared. The possible sighting was described as being behind Blatchley Middle School or in an abandoned area or building near the University of Alaska Southeast campus in Sitka.

Authorities acted on the information. Search personnel, including dog teams, searched the areas around Blatchley Middle School and the University of Alaska Southeast campus for approximately four hours. The renewed search did not locate evidence or signs of Jedidiah.

The development is important because it shows investigators continued pursuing new information well after the original searches ended. At the same time, the reported sighting should not be treated as a confirmed sighting of Jedidiah; publicly available reporting describes it as information from a woman who thought she may have seen him.

Latest Publicly Available Case Information

As of the latest publicly available information located for this article, Jedidiah Kowchee remains missing. Crime Solvers Central lists the case as a missing-person case and shows its record as last updated on August 8, 2026. The listing continues to identify December 13, 2023, as his last-seen date and Sitka as the location.

The Charley Project also lists Jedidiah as missing and reports that he has not been heard from since his disappearance. Its case file was added or updated on October 17, 2025.

No publicly documented evidence located for this article establishes that Jedidiah was the victim of a homicide, and his case should therefore be described as an unresolved missing-person investigation, not a homicide case. The July 2025 search remains the most substantial publicly reported renewed search effort located during this review.

Why the Case Remains Unresolved

One of the central difficulties in Jedidiah’s disappearance is the limited publicly known evidence after he left the shopping center. Security footage provides investigators with a relatively specific point in time near the beginning of his disappearance, but publicly released information does not establish where he went afterward.

The possible sighting reported to authorities later provided another potential geographic lead, but the 2025 search did not produce evidence confirming that Jedidiah had actually been in either of the areas searched.

His father’s description of the disappearance also remains significant. Although Jedidiah enjoyed hiking, his father said it was unusual for him to leave for more than a day without returning.

Very Brief Case Summary

Last Seen: December 13, 2023, at approximately 4:07 p.m.

Location: AC Lakeside grocery store shopping center/Orion Sporting Goods area, Sitka, Alaska.

Age When Missing: 28.

Circumstances: Security footage documented Jedidiah leaving the shopping center. He was reported missing two days later and has not been publicly confirmed seen since.

Searches: Police, fire department search-and-rescue personnel, Sitka Tribe of Alaska volunteers and other searchers conducted searches in December 2023. A new potential sighting prompted another search near Blatchley Middle School and the University of Alaska Southeast campus in July 2025.

Result: The searches did not locate Jedidiah or publicly reported evidence establishing what happened to him.

Current Status: Missing; case remains unresolved.

Police Case Number: 23-00591.

Anyone with information that could help investigators determine what happened to Jedidiah should contact the Sitka Police Department.