A Nikiski woman missing since Monday evening has been found dead near her home.
Sharon Eileen Berghone was last seen in Nikiski on Monday, and her daughter, Patsie Blakely, last spoke to her on the phone around 9 p.m. that night. Blakely said her mother gave no indication that she was going out.
Alaska State Troopers found the woman’s remains after their Thursday search efforts began at 11 a.m., said Captain Andy Greenstreet, commander of the troopers E Detachment, which covers the Kenai Peninsula.
“Shortly after the day’s search for… Berghone began, ground searchers found her remains in a wooded area within walking distance of her residence,” Greenstreet said.
Berghone’s family has been notified, and her body is being sent to the State Medical Examiner for an autopsy, according to a trooper dispatch.
Greenstreet said troopers were planning to get the department’s helicopter sent to the Kenai Peninsula to be used in the search, and that it has now been called off. The alert sent out for Berghone has been canceled, he said. Blakely said Wednesday that her mother had turned 64 on Tuesday. She had required the help of a cane, oxygen and other medications, all of which were left at her home at the north end of Holt Lamplight Road, Blakely said.
Alaska State Troopers Public Information Officer Beth Ipsen said in an email that foul play has been ruled out as an option in the case.
Reach Megan Pacer at megan.pacer@peninsula.com.
