Thirty-three-year-old Florence Okpealuk was last seen on West Beach in Nome, Alaska.
When Blaire couldn’t get in touch with her sister, she turned to Facebook and asked if anyone had seen Florence. She also started searching around town as Florence had not shown up for work or gone to the grocery store. None of her ex-partner or friends had any information on her whereabouts. Feeling like she had reached a dead-end, Blaire received a message from Naomi, a bartender at Board and Trade. Naomi mentioned that she had last seen Florence on her birthday, but a man at the bar claimed to have spotted Florence on West Beach with a miner on the night she went missing.
Blaire, along with some family members, decided to comb through West Beach, approaching anyone who might have seen Florence. Finally, a man disclosed to Blaire that he had observed Florence leaving a nearby tent around 4 p.m. He requested Blaire to wait while he checked inside his tent. Upon his return, he brought out Florence’s socks, shoes, and jacket. This left Blaire puzzled, prompting her to inquire about Florence’s whereabouts and why he was in possession of her belongings. The man grew silent but stuck to his story that he had not taken Florence to West Beach and claimed he found her items outside his tent.
Subsequently, an older man residing in the adjacent tent shared a different version of events. According to him, he saw Florence with his neighbor the previous evening, riding down the beach on an ATV. The ATV did not return until the following morning, yet only his neighbor was on board during its return trip.
Blaire reported Florence missing at 6:15 p.m. that evening, two days after she last saw her sister.
Payne Lindsey, host of the “Up and Vanished” podcast, traveled to Nome to investigate Florence’s disappearance. Lindsey contacted Naomi, the bartender from Board and Trade, who received a tip from a patron that Florence was last seen on West Beach. Naomi said the man who reportedly saw Florence worked as a freelance gold miner and also drove a taxi for Checkers Cabs. He lived in a tent on West Beach and was known locally as “Oregon John.
Joining Nancy Grace today:
Additional Guests
Deilah Johnson – friend of Florence, Tribal Resources Director for the Village of Solomon, author of “One of Our Own” available at www.villageofsolomon.org; Facebook: Deilahrj; IG: @deilah_rex; TikTok: @deilahsolomonenwi
Payne Lindsey – Podcast Host & Executive Producer of “Up and Vanished,” a true crime podcast about missing persons
Crime Stories with Nancy Grace” is also a national radio show on SiriusXM channel 111, airing for two hours daily starting at 12 p.m. EST. You can also subscribe and download the daily podcasts at iHeart Podcasts.
[Feature Photo: Florence Okpealuk w/Handout]
