Joe Vogler - Disappearance and Death

Disappearance and Death

Vogler disappeared under suspicious circumstances in May 1993, just weeks before he was scheduled to give a speech to the United Nations on Alaskan independence, sponsored by the government of Iran. Convicted thief Manfried West confessed to having murdered Vogler the following year in what he described as an illegal plastic explosive sale gone bad. West, trying to recant, later said the confession was a lie, but this was before Vogler's body had been discovered. Vogler's remains were discovered in a gravel pit east of Fairbanks in October 1994 following an anonymous tip. They had been wrapped in a blue tarp secured with duct tape and were identified through fingerprint analysis. Manfried West was convicted of murdering Joe Vogler and is serving an 80 year sentence.

In the opinion of AIP Chair Lynette Clark and other AIP leaders, however, Vogler's death reflected more than a dispute with West. Clark has stated, "He was executed." She notes that Vogler was about to appear before the United Nations to address the issue of Alaskan independence: "The United States government would have been deeply embarrassed. And we can't have that, can we?" There was also speculation that as an aging gold miner, he was merely viewed as an easy target for robbery. Although this theory has come up over the years, it was never validated.

As he had publicly promised on numerous occasions, Vogler was buried in Dawson City, Yukon, Canada, fulfilling his wish that he not be buried under the American flag. His second wife, Doris Louise, who died of cancer in January 1992, is buried next to him.