The stands were full. The energy was high. And on the court, the Shaktoolik Wolverines were in the spotlight.
It was one of the games during the State Basketball Tournament at the Alaska Airlines Center in Anchorage this month. But for a moment, the game paused. The focus shifted far beyond basketball.
All at once, dozens of people stood and raised posters that read: “Bring Kelly Home.”
Alexis Savage didn’t know what would happen next.
“Everyone came with so much passion, and you could feel it in the arena,” said Savage, an Inupiaq advocate for Missing and Murdered Indigenous People. “I just wanted it to feel like, if she was right there, she could feel everybody fighting for her. When people were chanting her name, I just felt goosebumps.”
Kelly Hunt was just 19 when she went missing from Anchorage on her way to college on January 7. What many don’t know is that Hunt played on that same court just a year ago as a senior in high school. She wore number 15 for the Wolverines.
Savage said moments like the one during the tournament matter, because awareness for missing people like Hunt needs to be sustained to make a difference, especially in Alaska, where cases involving Alaska Native people often don’t get the attention they deserve.
Savage is from Buckland, a close-knit Inupiaq community not unlike Shaktoolik. She said Hunt's disappearance hits close to home.
“I had a loved one from my hometown go missing a few years back, and I just felt like there wasn't very much action taken,” Savage said. “That was the start of my advocacy. I felt the need to speak up for people who can't speak for themselves.”
As an advocate, Savage said she has learned to ask for help. She had to work quickly to print and prepare the posters in time for the game.
“The night before, Walgreens had a crazy sale, so I was like, OK, we could make this happen,” she said. “We sent an order of her photos and asked for the community’s help. Within probably an hour, we had enough to get 145 printed.”
Walgreens even helped cut the posters down to size so they would be ready before tip-off.
“It was beautiful. I was crying. I’m sure her family was too, to see so many people willing to use their voice for someone who is not able to,” Savage said. “That’s really what it’s about.”
Savage, who has children of her own, said stories like Kelly’s are a reminder of why it’s so important to keep speaking up, to keep sharing names and faces, and to never let cases fade from public view.
Anyone with information about Kelly Hunt is urged to contact the Anchorage Police Department.
