The Alaska State Troopers were notified on October 2, 2024, at 5:27 am, that two adult females were located deceased at a residence in Hooper Bay. Patrol Troopers and Alaska Bureau of Investigation investigators responded to the community from Bethel by aircraft. The two females were identified as 18-year-old Hooper Bay resident Novely Rivers and 18-year-old Hooper Bay resident Abigail Olson.
Based on evidence at the scene, the deaths were being investigated as a homicide, and the Alaska Bureau of Investigation assumed case responsibility. Ten Troopers from the Alaska Bureau of Investigation and Western Alaska Patrol responded to assist with the investigation.
Both bodies were sent to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for autopsy, and their next of kin have been notified.
According to an update on 10/4/24, the City of Hooper Bay and Native Village of Hooper Bay offered a $10,000 reward for any person who provides information to the Alaska State Troopers that leads to the arrest and indictment of the person or persons responsible for the deaths of Novely Rivers and Abigail Olson.
On 10/6/24 after multiple days of thorough investigation, the Alaska Bureau of Investigation identified 20-year-old Hooper Bay resident Shaquille Carawan as a primary suspect in the violent murder of Novely Rivers and Abigail Olson.
On October 5, 2024, Troopers arrested Carawan and remanded him to Yukon Kuskokwim Correctional Center on two counts of Murder in the First Degree, two counts of Murder in the Second Degree, Tampering with Physical Evidence, Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the Third Degree and Furnishing Alcohol to Minors in a Dry Community.
The Alaska Bureau of Investigation would like to thank the community of Hooper Bay for their assistance and for providing tips and information that aided the investigation. Dozens of Alaska State Troopers and law enforcement officers from the Alaska Bureau of Investigation, Statewide Drug Enforcement Unit, C Detachment Patrol, and FBI Safe Streets Taskforce vigorously investigated this violent crime with assistance from the Alaska Department of Law’s Criminal Division and Village Public Safety Officers from multiple locations.
