ANCHORAGE — A man sought for questioning in the disappearance of a remote Bering Sea island woman killed himself before he could be questioned by Alaska State Troopers, authorities said Friday.
Benjamin Booshu, 37, was being sought after Gladys Aningayou, 22, went missing from the village of Gambell. Her body was found Monday several miles outside the village.
“As far as we know, he was the last person seen with her,” said Tim DeSpain, a spokesman for the troopers.
Before troopers could speak with Booshu, witnesses watched him shoot himself outside his home, DeSpain said
The state medical examiner scheduled an autopsy for Booshu on Friday.
Family members told troopers that Aningayou had not been seen since May 12. Injuries indicated she was a victim of foul play, DeSpain said. An official cause of death has not been released.
Gambell, with a population of about 700, is one of two villages on St. Lawrence Island in the Bering Sea. The island is 200 miles southwest of Nome and just 36 miles from the Chukotka Peninsula in Siberia.
