Overview

Last physically seen: April 20, 2020
Last known location: Lower Skilak Lake Campground near Cooper Landing, Alaska
Last known communication: Text message on April 22, 2020
Age when missing: 39
Residence: Homer, Alaska
Height: 6 feet
Weight: Approximately 215 pounds
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Case status: Missing; classified by The Charley Project as lost/injured missing
Alaska State Troopers incident: AK20027965

Crawford was camping and fishing with his girlfriend near Lower Skilak Lake. She eventually left the campsite to return to work, while Crawford remained behind to continue camping and fishing. He was last physically seen on April 20 and communicated by text on April 22.

The following day, April 23, a passing hiker discovered Crawford’s belongings near the water. His backpack and fishing equipment were found along Hidden Creek Trail near the point where the Kenai River enters Skilak Lake. His dog was also discovered alive and loose in the area. Crawford himself was nowhere to be found.

His blue-and-white Ford F-350 was located at the Hidden Creek trailhead. The camper he and his girlfriend had been using remained at the Lower Skilak Lake Campground.

Detailed Case Breakdown

Michael William Crawford Missing in Alaska: The 2020 Skilak Lake Disappearance

Michael William Crawford, a 39-year-old Homer, Alaska man, disappeared in April 2020 while camping and fishing near Skilak Lake on the Kenai Peninsula. More than six years later, Crawford has not been located, and publicly available records continue to describe his disappearance as an unresolved missing-person case.

Brief Case Summary

Last physically seen: April 20, 2020
Last known location: Lower Skilak Lake Campground near Cooper Landing, Alaska
Last known communication: Text message on April 22, 2020
Age when missing: 39
Residence: Homer, Alaska
Height: 6 feet
Weight: Approximately 215 pounds
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Case status: Missing; classified by The Charley Project as lost/injured missing
Alaska State Troopers incident: AK20027965

Crawford was camping and fishing with his girlfriend near Lower Skilak Lake. She eventually left the campsite to return to work, while Crawford remained behind to continue camping and fishing. He was last physically seen on April 20 and communicated by text on April 22.

The following day, April 23, a passing hiker discovered Crawford’s belongings near the water. His backpack and fishing equipment were found along Hidden Creek Trail near the point where the Kenai River enters Skilak Lake. His dog was also discovered alive and loose in the area. Crawford himself was nowhere to be found.

His blue-and-white Ford F-350 was located at the Hidden Creek trailhead. The camper he and his girlfriend had been using remained at the Lower Skilak Lake Campground.

The Disappearance of Michael Crawford

Crawford had traveled from Homer to the Skilak Lake area for a camping and fishing trip with his girlfriend. They established their campsite at Lower Skilak Lake Campground, in the Cooper Landing area of Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula.

According to information provided by Alaska State Troopers to the Homer News, Crawford’s girlfriend left the campground because she needed to return to work. Crawford elected to stay behind and continue camping and fishing.

Authorities list April 20, 2020, as the date Crawford was last seen camping at Lower Skilak Campground. Although he was not physically seen afterward, he remained in communication for another two days. His final known communication was a text message sent on April 22.

There is no publicly documented communication from Crawford after that message.

His Dog and Belongings Are Found

The circumstances discovered on April 23 created the central mystery surrounding Crawford’s disappearance.

A passing hiker found Crawford’s backpack and fishing equipment in the Hidden Creek Trail area. Reports also describe hiking poles among the belongings. The items were near the edge of Skilak Lake, close to the mouth of the Kenai River.

Crawford’s dog was there as well, alive and running loose.

His truck was found parked at the Hidden Creek trailhead. Alaska State Troopers identified it in their missing-person bulletin as a white-and-blue 1989 Ford F-350 bearing Alaska license plate JKE628. Other secondary reporting has described the model year as either 1983 or 1989, but the official Troopers bulletin identifies it as a 1989 vehicle.

The presence of Crawford’s vehicle, dog and outdoor equipment concentrated the search around Hidden Creek Trail, the Kenai River and Skilak Lake.

Multi-Agency Search for Michael Crawford

A coordinated search began on April 24, 2020.

The search involved Alaska State Troopers and multiple other organizations and agencies. Contemporary reporting identified U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service officers, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, Alaska State Park rangers, Alaska Dive Rescue Team members, and Crawford’s family and friends among those participating.

Aircraft were also brought into the effort. Alaska Wildlife Troopers provided an airplane, while Alaska State Troopers used a helicopter during the search.

Searchers nevertheless found no publicly reported trace that established what happened to Crawford.

Conditions around Skilak Lake also affected the investigation. At the end of April 2020, authorities said additional searching of the lake would continue as the ice cleared.

What Happened to Michael Crawford?

The publicly available evidence does not establish whether Crawford entered the water, became lost or injured somewhere around the trail system, or disappeared under another set of circumstances.

Alaska State Troopers reported that his last known clothing and direction of travel were unknown.

That uncertainty is important. Although Crawford’s belongings and dog were discovered near Skilak Lake, their location does not by itself establish what happened to him. No publicly available official source reviewed for this article identifies a confirmed homicide, suspect, arrest or criminal cause of disappearance.

The Charley Project categorizes Crawford as lost/injured missing and states that an extensive search failed to reveal his whereabouts.

Latest Publicly Available Information

Crawford’s disappearance continues to be publicly presented as unresolved.

The Alaska Department of Public Safety still has Crawford’s missing-person bulletin accessible online. The bulletin asks anyone with information to contact Alaska State Troopers in Soldotna and reference incident AK20027965.

The Charley Project also continues to list Crawford as missing and states that his case remains unsolved.

Public interest has continued beyond the original 2020 search. In December 2024, the Pacific Northwest Missing Persons Project featured Crawford’s disappearance in an episode discussing three Alaska missing-person cases.

As of the latest publicly searchable information reviewed in August 2026, no reliable official announcement was located stating that Crawford has been found, that human remains have been identified as his, or that investigators have reclassified the disappearance as a homicide.

That distinction matters: Crawford remains a missing person based on the available official and established case sources, rather than a confirmed homicide victim.

Why Michael Crawford’s Disappearance Remains Unsolved

Several facts continue to make the disappearance particularly difficult to reconstruct.

Crawford was apparently alone by the time he vanished. His last physical sighting and last electronic communication occurred on different dates. His direction of travel and clothing were unknown, and investigators were confronted with a large wilderness-and-water search environment.

At the same time, several possessions that could ordinarily help establish someone’s movements were left behind or recovered: his truck was at the trailhead, his camping location was known, and his dog and outdoor equipment were found near Skilak Lake.

Despite those clues and a substantial multi-agency search, no publicly confirmed evidence has answered the central question of where Michael William Crawford went after his final communication on April 22, 2020.

Anyone with information about Crawford’s disappearance should contact Alaska State Troopers and reference incident AK20027965.