Seward woman found dead near boat in Kodiak Island bay

UGANIK BAY, Alaska (KTUU) - A Seward woman was found dead Friday night in the water near the boat she was working on along Kodiak Island.

Alaska State Troopers reported that 33-year-old Rubye Blake was found by members of a hunting outfitter boat in Uganik Bay. Authorities say Blake was a crewmember of the 40-foot-long fishing boat F/V Enchantress, which was anchored offshore in a remote area of the bay.

Authorities said the report came in around 10:45 p.m. on Friday when crew members “returned to the vessel later in the day.” Troopers said Blake’s body was discovered about 100 yards from the boat, near the beach.

Kodiak troopers arrived to investigate the scene and determined that no foul play was currently suspected, as Blake was the only adult on the boat at the time of her death.

Blake was well known in the Alaska running community, having won a pair of state cross-country running championships in high school in 2004 and 2006, known then as Rubye Foldager. Her twin sister Denali also won a state cross-country title in 2005.

Both sisters grew up in a running family with championship lineage in the popular Mount Marathon race, a Fourth of July tradition in Alaska — their mother, Patti Foldager, is a two-time women’s Mount Marathon winner with titles in 1985 and 1993, and their father Flip Foldager is a longtime runner and race volunteer.

Denali owns three consecutive wins in the junior girls Mount Marathon race, with Rubye following her sister in second in 2007.

Troopers said Blake’s body will be transported to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Anchorage for further investigation.

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