BC Cook
EAGLE River is a suburban town a few miles north of Anchorage, Alaska, not the typical setting for gang activity. Yet, despite its remoteness the town witnessed an increase in gang-related incidents as a group of mostly young men roamed the streets.
The intrusions seemed random at first, but a pattern emerged that helped authorities figure out the identities of the culprits. Young men, ages 14 to 17, made up the bulk of the gang, with a few others drifting in and out depending on the job.
They struck mainly at night or when the homeowners were away, targeting the elderly and infirm, the most vulnerable in society, then they turned their attention to single women. The pattern meant that no homeowners were hurt during their visits. One could say the gang went out of their way to ensure no one was harmed or even encountered, which is one of the reasons the police had so much trouble identifying who they were.
Finally, an enterprising local journalist named Debbie Briscoe determined to shine the light of truth and justice on the Eagle River Gang, as the press had nicknamed them. She studied their pattern of behavior, tried to identify the gang members, then staked out an area she believed they would visit.
Her efforts paid off as she sat in her car in the dark on a lonely street. The gang had arrived, just as she predicted, but not to harm her. That night she was not the object of their intentions but a home on the street in front of her was. She would catch the gang in the act. She studied their activities and took voluminous notes, then published her findings in an article in the newspaper.
Finally, the mystery of the Eagle River Gang had been solved. But the police did nothing. The truth is that they never had any intention of thwarting the gang’s activities, so even though the truth had been exposed not one person was arrested.
That is because what this group of young men did when they got together at night was a blessing to the community rather than a curse. They shoveled snow from the driveways of unsuspecting elderly couples, removed trash from the yards of the infirm, and mowed the lawns of vulnerable single women. This anonymous gang of young men did the work that could not be done by the homeowners themselves, and they never received a single dime.
The night that Debbie Briscoe saw the gang she confronted one of them. “What is your name!” she demanded. The boy replied, “I’ll never tell,” and went back to shoveling the driveway.
Dr. BC Cook taught history for 30 years and is a director and Pacific historian at Sealark Exploration (sealarkexploration.org). He currently lives in Hawaii.
