Belarus woman drowns while searching for famous ‘Into the Wild’ bus

A 24-year-old woman drowned last Thursday while trying to reach the abandoned bus made famous by the book Into the Wild.

Veranika Nikanava and her husband, Piotr Markielau, were hiking Alaska’s Stampede Trail, the same one American hiker Chris McCandless took before he died in 1992 at the Fairbank Bus 142.

While attempting to cross the Teklanika River, Reuters reports, Nikanava was swept under. Her husband recovered her nearly 100 feet downstream, but by that time she was already dead.

According to Alaska State Trooper spokesperson Ken Marsh, Markielau called troopers that evening to report his wife’s death.

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Volunteers from the Tri-Valley Fire Department, along with one trooper, arrived at the scene, the Alaska State Troopers explained. The state medical examiner is working to determine and confirm the exact cause of death.

Officials originally identified Nikanava incorrectly as Veramika Maikamava.

The Russian Times reports that the deceased was a Belarusian actor, who moved to the United States shortly after her 2010 breakout role in the Russian-Belarusian war movie, The Brest Fortress.

Hundreds of hikers attempt to reach the bus every year, eager to walk in McCandless’ final steps. Sadly, not all of them make it.

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According to the latest available data, there were 15 state search-and-rescue missions into the area from 2009 to 2017, Marsh said.

Swiss hiker Claire Ackermann, 29, drowned while trying to cross the same river back in 2010. She’d been travelling with a hiking partner from France, whose name was not released.

The hiker hot spot became famous after writer Jon Krakauer wrote about McCandless’ journey in a 1993 article for Outside magazine.

Born to a wealthy family in Washington, D.C., McCandless decided to give up a life of privilege and fulfill his dream of living off the land. He headed out on his journey without a word to his friends or family.

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The hiker, who died at the age of 24, hitchhiked to Alaska and set out on the Stampede Trail.

He lived in the bus for nearly three months before deciding to head back to civilization.

He died of starvation after eating poisonous seeds, before he got the chance to reunite with his loved ones.

— With files from Reuters

meaghan.wray@globalnews.ca