A Civil Air Patrol search crew about 3:40 p.m. April 10 found the body of Bryan Farrow, 47, the snowmachiner reporting missing between Greer Road and Caribou Lake last week. No foul play is suspected, Alaska State Troopers said. By Wednesday morning, searchers had not yet located Farrow's snowmachine.

"It looked like he was walking along and got either hypothermic or something natural happened," said Trooper Ryan Browning.

Browning said Farrow did not have any injuries and still wore insulated coveralls, boots and gloves. His body had melted slightly in the snow but was not covered with snow or frozen. Browning did not find fresh tracks in the area.

Farrow had been last seen about noon on April 3 and had told his neighbor, Gina Creedon, he planned to ride about 20 miles to Dan Greer's cabin at the west end of Caribou Lake. He wasn't reported missing until Tuesday, April 7, after Greer returned from his Caribou Lake cabin and talked with Creedon. They realized Farrow hadn't made it to Caribou Lake and hadn't returned home.

Troopers started a search last Tuesday afternoon, April 7, with Helo 1. The CAP and the Snowmads joined the search April 8.

Volunteers with Central Emergency Services also searched. About 15 Snomads members participated, working the main and side trails and checking Caribou Lake and area cabins, said Snomads President Dave Mastolier.

"Which is kind of sad -- we'd been through there on the trails," Mastolier said of the area where Farrow was found.

Farrow's body was found off the main trail in a swampy area where Deep Creek meets Caribou Lake about 1.5 miles from the lake. Browning said the area was windblown with tundra grasses sticking out of the snow.

Mastolier and Creedon both said Farrow was an experienced outdoorsman and snowmachine mechanic.

"Bryan was a very capable person. He was mechanically inclined. He knew winter survival," Mastolier said.

"He was probably the most fabulous marine diesel mechanic on the planet," Creedon said. "He could fix everything, and everybody said so."

Creedon rented a cabin to Farrow on her property and was good friends with her and her family, she said. She met Farrow when he fixed the wiring on a broken taillight of her car.

Creedon said Farrow had been in poor health and had difficulty walking long distances. He broke his neck in a motorcycle accident on July 4, 2007, and had been in physical therapy and rehabilitation, she said. He would have lit a fire to help searchers find him if he was capable, she said.

A veteran of the U.S. Coast Guard, Farrow worked for many years at Northern Enterprises Boatyard, where he was known as "Boatyard Bryan."

"He was one of those guys who was happy all the time," Mastolier said. "He worked hard, had a good attitude. I never saw him grumpy."

"He was a really special guy. He'd been here forever. He was loved by many people," Creedon said. "He was a volunteering, help-people-out kind of guy."

Farrow is survived by two sons, Taw and Lee, and two wives from former marriages. No memorial services have been set.

The Alaska State Medical Examiner did not order an autopsy and released Farrow's body to his family.

Michael Armstrong can be reached at michaelarmstrong.@homernews.com.