Alaska State Troopers are in Kobuk actively looking for a man accused of sexually assaulting a teenage girl at the end of May 2015.
Troopers said in an online dispatch they have been looking for 53-year-old Clifton Sun since the alleged incident was first reported on May 31, 2016. The victim’s mother found a seemingly intoxicated Sun sexually assaulting her daughter and managed to get him off of her, charging documents show. She then took her daughter to the Kobuk clinic and reported the assault to troopers.
Based on interviews with the victim and her mother, troopers filed 10 charges against Sun, including first-degree sexual assault and first-degree sexual abuse of a minor. Troopers were granted a no-bail warrant for his arrest, but so far he has evaded capture.
“Troopers have been actively searching for Sun in and around the community since the initial report,” AST spokeswoman Megan Peters wrote in the dispatch. ”Troopers believe that previously some people were assisting in hiding and supporting Sun’s ability to remain free on these serious offenses.”
Sun has prior convictions of assault, as well as a resisting arrest conviction. A Kobuk Village Police Officer saw Sun on May 31, 2015 with a rifle in his hand. He may face additional charges for possessing a firearm as a convicted felon.
“Clifton has an extremely assaultive history, shows no regard for his own blood kin and family, was observed in possession of a firearm contrary to the conditions of his probation,” trooper Ted Nordgaarden wrote in his warrant affidavit. “[The victim’s mother] fears for her family, family members remaining in the village and does not feel safe returning home.”
Troopers said they have received word that Sun was seen in the village of Kobuk this week.
“We have no credible information that Clifton Sun has threatened anyone in the community since the initial report,” Peters said in an email to KTVA. “Further he was reported to be actively running from individuals in the community when they attempted to contact him.”
Anyone with information on Sun’s whereabouts is asked to call Kotzebue troopers at 907-442-3222, or Crime Stoppers at 907-561-STOP (7867) to remain anonymous.
Kobuk is located in Western Alaska along the Kobuk River, southeast of Ambler.
