Map of Tazlina CDP

Tazlina /tæzˈliːnə/ (Tezdlen Na’ in Ahtna Athabascan) is a census-designated place (CDP) in the Copper River Census Area, Alaska, United States. At the 2020 census the population was 244, down from 297 in 2010.

Tazlina CDP overview:
Name:	Tazlina CDP
LSAD Code:	57
LSAD Description:	CDP (suffix)
State:	Alaska
County:	Valdez-Cordova Census Area
Elevation:	2,418 ft (737 m)
Total Area:	9.07 sq mi (23.50 km²)
Land Area:	8.22 sq mi (21.29 km²)
Water Area:	0.85 sq mi (2.21 km²)
Total Population:	244
Population Density:	29.68/sq mi (11.46/km²)
ZIP code:	99588
Area code:	907
FIPS code:	0275480
GNISfeature ID:	1410694

Online Interactive Map

Tazlina online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Tazlina location map. Where is Tazlina CDP?

Tazlina location on the Alaska map. Where is Tazlina CDP. — Location of Tazlina in Alaska.

History

Murder of Mandy Lemaire

On August 22, 1991, 11-year-old Tazlina resident Mandy Lemaire was reported missing by her parents, triggering a massive search by law enforcement and townspeople. Ten days later, a volunteer searcher found Lemaire’s body in a wooded area. Authorities suspected 61-year-old retiree Charles Smithart of the murder when another local man, Dave DeForest, told police he had observed Smithart driving near Mandy’s house on the day she went missing. Police and forensic investigators found considerable trace evidence in Smithart’s truck that suggested Mandy’s presence in the vehicle, and learned from Smithart’s eldest daughter that he had raped her and her sisters when they were Lemaire’s age.

In 1993, Smithart was tried for and convicted of first-degree kidnapping, first-degree sexual battery on a minor, and first-degree murder. He was sentenced to serve 114 years in prison. In 1999, the Alaska Supreme Court overturned Smithart’s conviction, ruling that the lower court improperly denied his defense counsel the right to assert that prosecution witness Dave DeForest had committed the crime. All charges were automatically dismissed in 2000, after Smithart died of lung cancer in prison, awaiting a retrial.

Tazlina and the Lemaire murder were featured on the true-crime television series Forensic Files, in the season 8 episode “Sphere of Influence”. The television network Investigation Discovery aired two shows about the murder; the series Ice Cold Killers, episode titled “Fear Thy Neighbor” aired in 2014; and the special “Vanished in Alaska” in 2018.

Tazlina Road Map

Tazlina city Satellite Map

Geography

Tazlina is located at 62°2′57″N 145°24′55″W / 62.04917°N 145.41528°W / 62.04917; -145.41528 (62.049082, -145.415224).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 9.07 square miles (23.5 km), of which, 8.22 square miles (21.3 km) of it is land and 0.85 square miles (2.2 km) of it (9.37%) is water.