Gordon Samel, 52, was killed on Sunday in an officer-initiated shooting surrounding a drunk-driving incident in Wasilla, Alaska.
In 1992, Samel became a part of Alaskan folklore when he while on a moose hunt near Denali National Park and Preserve.
Samel was described as a passionate outdoorsman but also someone who had lived a troubled life. Late Sunday night, Samel was involved in a police chase after he was reported for drunk driving. Following a sustained pursuit, police units ultimately surrounded Samel as he sped toward an officer approaching on foot. The officer and another trooper , killing Samel and injuring the other male passenger.
Samel had been under court orders to not drink after a DUI arrest in September, when he picked up two hitchhikers before crashing into a roadside ditch. Sunday night marked the end of a nearly 30-year criminal history for Samel.
In 1992, Samel was with a group of three moose hunters when they found McCandless almost three weeks after he died. According to Jon Krakauer, when the hunters arrived at the old Fairbanks city bus, a couple from Anchorage were already there but stayed back because of the stench and unsettling SOS note. It was in his sleeping bag.