Alec Luhn, missing American hiker, is found alive in Norway

By Claire Moses and Henrik Pryser Libell

Rescue workers on Wednesday found Alec Luhn, an American hiker who had been missing for nearly a week after taking a solo backpacking trip in a Norwegian national park, according to police officials and the Norwegian Red Cross.

Luhn, 38, was in “good condition,” Oystein Torsnes, a police chief in the Hardanger region, said in a phone interview.

A rescue helicopter found Luhn, who had suffered some injuries to his feet, said Svein Buer, a local police official in Hardanger.

Workers had been searching for Luhn since Monday night through bad weather and challenging terrain. On Wednesday morning, the weather conditions — while still cloudy and rainy — were good enough to use helicopters, which had not been possible the day before.

“It’s amazing,” Buer said by phone. “He stayed alive for almost a week, up in the mountains.”

Luhn has been transported to the Haukeland Hospital in Bergen, according to Ingeborg Thorsland, a spokesperson for the Norwegian Red Cross.

Luhn had last been heard from last Thursday afternoon when he texted his itinerary to his wife, Veronika Silchenko.

An experienced hiker, Luhn was on a solo backpacking trip heading into Folgefonna National Park from Odda, a nearby town. The park is a popular, if challenging, place for hikers to admire its stunning nature, which includes a large glacier at its center.

Torsnes said Luhn was found where rescue workers had expected — a few kilometers north of his last known position, from which he had sent his wife a photo of himself from his phone.

There were about 50 people involved in the search, Torsnes said.

Luhn is an environmental journalist who has also covered the war in Ukraine, among other topics. His articles have appeared in newspapers and media outlets including The Guardian, The Atlantic, Scientific American and Vice News.