Josh Novakovich’s body was found two days after he got swept away while attempting to ride the Turnagain Arm bore tide in Alaska

NEED TO KNOW

• The body of paddleboarder Joshua Novakovich, 25, was recovered two days after he got swept away while attempting to ride the Turnagain Arm bore tide in Alaska on June 19
• Almost two months later, his father Matt recalled the last conversation he had with him
• He went on to say that while nobody is to blame, he feels like “a thousand things” could have saved his son

The father of a 25-year-old man who died while paddleboarding in Alaska two months ago is recalling their final phone conversation.

According to an Alaska State Troopers dispatch, authorities were notified on June 19 that an adult male paddleboarder — identified as Joshua Novakovich, of Anchorage — was being swept away in Turnagain Arm, a local waterway.

Anchorage Daily News reported that he was in the water for hours before authorities and witnesses, including his father and girlfriend, lost sight of him.

Speaking with Alaska News Source, Matt Novakovich spoke about being able to talk to his son as he floated on his board that day.

“The final thing Josh said to me was — it was he was just struggling,” Matt Novakovich told Alaska News Source in an interview published on Tuesday, Aug. 11. “I said you just gotta keep paddling. You gotta keep yourself warm, you gotta keep moving.”

After the initial 911 call came in, Alaska State Troopers said that a local volunteer fire department was already there and that the Coast Guard had been contacted as well.

However, at some point, officials and bystanders lost sight of Josh.

The following day, June 20, the Coast Guard suspended its search efforts for Josh, while other groups — including Alaska State Troopers — continued searching.

Around 7:45 p.m. local time on June 21, authorities received word of a possible sighting, later recovering his body from a sandbar.

Speaking with Alaska News Source, Josh’s father said that while nobody is to blame, he feels like “a thousand things” could have saved his son.

“It’s like having your heart cut in half,” he told the outlet. “It’s something that doesn’t go away.”

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In a June 22 Facebook post, Josh’s uncle, Mike Novakovich, remembered his nephew, who had been trying to ride Turnagain Arm’s bore tide when he was swept away, for his love of adventure.

“He loved Alaska and the adventure it offered,” wrote Mike. “I truly believe if asked if he could decide to be an old man dying in his bed but having to have given up the adventures he lived or chosen safety in mediocrity, he would’ve chosen adventure and the joy that came with feasting on life.”  

“He loved life, his family, and everything associated with Alaska,” Mike continued. “We will miss him forever but every beauty we see in nature will remind us of him and the knowledge that he’s close by, smiling and happy.” 

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