Skeptoid

Skeptoid #1015: The Alaska Triangle

November 18, 2025

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  • The popular narrative surrounding the Alaska Triangle, often amplified by media like the 2020-2021 Travel Channel series, relies on grossly exaggerated figures, such as claiming 20,000 disappearances, which the host debunks using official statistics showing only 1,334 unsolved missing persons cases since 1948. 
  • The term "Alaska Triangle" likely originated in 2001 with a History's Mysteries episode, not in 1972 following the disappearance of Congressman Hale Boggs, and claims regarding the triangle's area are also frequently inflated. 
  • While the paranormal explanation for disappearances in Alaska is unfounded, the state does have an alarmingly high rate of unsolved missing persons (177 per 100,000 residents) due to extreme environmental hazards like vast wilderness, deep crevasses, and harsh weather, as detailed by poet Sheila Nickerson. 

Segments

Introduction to Alaska Triangle
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(00:00:03)
  • Key Takeaway: The Alaska Triangle is promoted by media as a region of unexplained disappearances involving aliens, monsters, and secret labs.
  • Summary: The Alaska Triangle is presented as a region comparable to the Bermuda Triangle, filled with sensational claims of sudden vanishings of people, planes, and boats. The host introduces the topic of Skeptoid #1015: The Alaska Triangle by mentioning these sensational elements. The segment concludes by stating the episode’s goal is to investigate the phenomenon.
Skeptoid Premium Membership Pitch
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(00:00:39)
  • Key Takeaway: Skeptoid Premium membership offers ad-free listening, extended episodes, and early access to merchandise sales.
  • Summary: Listeners can support the show and enhance their experience by joining Skeptoid premium membership. Benefits include uninterrupted critical thinking content and exclusive extended episode versions. Membership also grants early access to holiday store sales for Skeptoid gear.
Odoo Business Software Sponsorship
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(00:01:30)
  • Key Takeaway: Odoo provides a single, connected suite of affordable enterprise apps to simplify business software management.
  • Summary: Business software from multiple vendors leads to complicated and rising costs. Odoo offers a unified platform covering accounting, inventory, and sales. This solution allows businesses to save money while retaining necessary features.
Debunking Disappearance Statistics
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(00:02:05)
  • Key Takeaway: The claim of 20,000 disappearances in the Alaska Triangle is false, exaggerated by a factor of about 15 compared to the actual 1,334 unsolved cases since 1948.
  • Summary: The host addresses the Travel Channel series and subsequent media hype surrounding the Alaska Triangle’s supposed alarming rate of disappearances. Official data shows Alaska has 1,334 unsolved missing persons cases, which is fewer than states like Texas or California on a raw count. However, Alaska’s rate of 177 missing per 100,000 residents is ten times higher than the next highest state, Hawaii.
Analyzing Triangle Area Claims
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(00:07:35)
  • Key Takeaway: Sources claiming the Alaska Triangle area is 200,000 to 300,000 square miles are incorrect; the maximum calculated area connecting key Alaskan points is 185,000 square miles.
  • Summary: A test for unreliable sources is checking their stated area for the Alaska Triangle. Many sources grossly overestimate the size, which can be calculated by mapping between Anchorage, Juneau, and Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow). Any figure exceeding 185,000 square miles should lead listeners to dismiss the source’s presentation.
Origin of the Term ‘Alaska Triangle’
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(00:08:21)
  • Key Takeaway: The phrase “Alaska Triangle” first appeared in print in 2001 in a History’s Mysteries episode, contradicting claims that it originated in 1972.
  • Summary: Another test for invalid sources is citing 1972 as the origin of the term, which is false as the phrase did not appear in print that year. The earliest documented use found by the host was in a 2001 History’s Mysteries episode titled “Alaska’s Bermuda Triangle.” This episode focused heavily on the Boggs and Begich disappearance.
Skeptoid Adventure Cruise Announcement
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(00:09:22)
  • Key Takeaway: Skeptoid is hosting a sailing adventure cruise from Malaga, Spain to Nice, France, from April 18th to 25th, 2026.
  • Summary: Host Brian Dunning invites listeners to join a mini-conference at sea aboard the SV Royal Clipper. The itinerary includes stops at Valencia, Majorca, Menorca, and Corsica. Further details are available at skeptoid.com/adventures.
Mohegan Sun Casino Advertisement
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(00:10:29)
  • Key Takeaway: Mohegan Sun promotes an experience focused on flavor, fun, and unforgettable moments, encouraging visitors to go ‘all in’.
  • Summary: The advertisement uses evocative language to describe the atmosphere at Mohegan Sun. It suggests that the combination of the visitor and the venue equals ’the best time ever.’ Visitors are directed to MoheganSun.com to begin their experience.
Blinds.com Window Treatment Promotion
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(00:10:59)
  • Key Takeaway: Blinds.com offers personalized window treatments with DIY or professional installation options, backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee.
  • Summary: Blinds.com emphasizes customization based on individual style and space, providing free expert design help. They are currently running Black Friday deals, offering up to 45% off site-wide plus an additional 10% off all orders through January 5th.
Origin of Alaska Triangle Terminology
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(00:11:29)
  • Key Takeaway: The term “Alaska’s Bermuda Triangle” was first used in 1978 in a publisher’s description for the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped’s cassette books.
  • Summary: The host details the difficulty in tracing the term’s origin, finally locating it in a 1978 audiobook selection featuring poems by Sheila Nickerson. Nickerson later used the term again in her 1996 prose book, Disappearance: a Map: A Meditation on Death and Loss in the High Latitudes. She attributed the disappearances to the extreme environment, such as glaciers and cold waters, not paranormal causes.
Environmental Dangers in Alaska
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(00:13:53)
  • Key Takeaway: Unsolved disappearances in Alaska are overwhelmingly explained by environmental factors like deep crevasses, fast/cold water, and the sheer size of the wilderness, not supernatural forces.
  • Summary: Sheila Nickerson noted that planes are often never found because the area is too large and the snow crevasses too deep. Crabbing in the Bering Sea is cited as the nation’s most dangerous occupation, with ghost fishing pots adding to the sea’s mysteries. These harsh realities sufficiently explain the missing persons without invoking paranormal explanations.
Missing Alaska Native Women Context
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(00:14:49)
  • Key Takeaway: While Alaska Native women face a high rate of violence, most related crimes are solved, and the majority of missing Alaska Natives are men lost in remote wilderness areas while hunting or fishing.
  • Summary: Alaska has the fourth highest number of missing and murdered women and girls among U.S. states, with murder being the third leading cause of death for this demographic. However, 75 to 80% of missing Alaska Natives are lost in remote wilderness areas, a rate higher than non-native Alaskans, often due to hazardous outdoor work.
Total Unexplained Plane Losses
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(00:15:44)
  • Key Takeaway: Only five planes have gone missing in Alaska without ever being found, including the 1972 Boggs/Begich crash, contradicting sensationalized claims of staggering numbers.
  • Summary: The host challenges the idea of numerous planes vanishing, stating the total number of completely lost planes is only five since 1947, with the most recent being in 2013. Furthermore, few of these known crash routes actually fall within the alleged boundaries of the Alaska Triangle.
Conclusion and Final Thoughts
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(00:16:36)
  • Key Takeaway: The Alaska Triangle has a disproportionately high number of unsolved missing persons cases due to the state’s immense size and brutal conditions, demanding respect for its inherent dangers.
  • Summary: Unlike the non-existent Bermuda Triangle, the Alaska Triangle area does have a higher share of unsolved missing persons due to environmental factors. Alaska’s vastness, great distances, few roads, and brutal winter conditions are sufficient explanations for the disappearances. The host concludes that this reality alone commands respect for the state.
Premium Content Teaser and Credits
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(00:17:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Further details about the host’s grandfather’s flying incidents are available in the ad-free premium feed, and Skeptoid provides transcripts and educational materials for its content.
  • Summary: The episode teases extended content available to premium supporters, including more stories about the host’s grandfather. Transcripts with bibliographic references are available on the Skeptoid website for verification and sharing. The show is a production of Skeptoid Media, with specific roles listed for operations, marketing, and production.
Lexus Holiday Sales Event Ad
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(00:19:11)
  • Key Takeaway: Lexus is promoting its December to Remember sales event, offering deals on select models through January 5th.
  • Summary: The advertisement focuses on the positive feelings associated with the holiday season, such as opening presents and family gatherings. The Lexus sales event encourages customers to experience amazing deals on vehicles. Offers are valid now through January 5th.