NOME, Alaska (AP) – Iditarod musher Aliy Zirkle says an attack by a man on a snowmobile lasted for two hours, and she felt like a hostage in the Alaska wilderness.
The attack happened as mushers worked their way west on the Yukon River in the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Near the village of Nulato early Saturday morning, a man on a snowmobile separately attacked Zirkle and later, four-time Iditarod champion Jeff King. One of King’s dogs was killed, and others in both teams were injured.
Zirkle says in a statement posted on the Iditarod website that the man accused in the attack made what she called prolonged, aggressive and what she believes to be deliberate threats to her and her team.
She says she was terrified.
Zirkle believes she or her dog team could have been maimed or killed if she hadn’t taken defensive actions.