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There was a moment on Life Below Zero that stopped many of us in our tracks. Sue Aikens, usually composed and ever-capable in the harsh Alaskan wild, sat quietly—eyes dimmed, voice unsteady—and spoke about a loss that no grandparent should ever face: her granddaughter, Carleigh. It wasn’t just TV. It was grief, raw and unfiltered.
We know Sue as a woman who’s endured the wilderness, alone in Kavik River Camp. But in that moment, viewers saw someone stripped of survival tactics—just a grandmother with a heartbreak.
Let’s walk gently through this painful story.
Carleigh wasn’t famous. She didn’t appear on Life Below Zero. But to Sue, she was everything.
She was an artist. A mother. A deeply empathetic young woman who loved music and expressed herself through creativity. Carleigh was the kind of soul who colored outside the lines and found beauty in unexpected places.
While Sue found peace in isolation, Carleigh bloomed in warmth and community. And yet, despite their different lives, they had that quiet connection that only family can explain. You know, that invisible thread of shared strength and gentle affection.
Carleigh went missing in January 2023. It was one of those stories that starts as a strange silence—one that grows louder with each passing day. She had last been seen in Fairbanks, Alaska. Her car was found, but she wasn’t.
Weeks passed. Then in March, heartbreak became reality. Her body was discovered near the Tanana River. Authorities said there were signs of foul play. A homicide investigation followed.
When Sue spoke about it in Season 21, Episode 3 of Life Below Zero, she didn’t dramatize anything. She didn’t have to. Her silence said enough. There were no grand statements. Just tremors in her voice, a stillness in her eyes—and a loss that viewers could feel from their living rooms.
The whole truth remains unknown to us. On January 18, 2023, Carleigh vanished from sight. On March 10, her body was found. Law enforcement has not commented on the case except to confirm that it is an open homicide. Such incidents are tragically common in Alaska, particularly among Indigenous women. Since the 1980s, more than 500 have been reported slain or missing. Carleigh was never merely a statistic, even if she was counted among that heartbreaking number.
She had a name. A laugh. A family who loved her. And a grandmother—Sue Aikens—who’s now living with the ache of unanswered questions.
Carleigh Aikens was just 27. That’s too young to become a memory. She had dreams. A child. A world that was still unfolding.
Here’s what we know:
Her family hasn’t spoken much publicly—and honestly, who could blame them? When grief is fresh, it’s hard to form words. Sometimes, silence holds more truth than headlines ever could.
Sue has faced a lot. She’s survived bear attacks, harsh winters, and the kind of loneliness that would rattle most people. But this? This shook her in a way the wild never could.
Stepping Back to Breathe
After the news broke, Sue stepped back from filming for a while. The land was still there—the dogs, the snow, the silence—but her spirit needed space. Loss has a way of pulling even the strongest among us into retreat.
Memory Over Routine
She talks about Carleigh’s laugh sometimes, off-camera. The kind of laugh that filled rooms. And now, when Sue sits in her cabin, she says it’s like the wind sometimes carries it back to her. Bittersweet, like the winter sun.
Healing Through Purpose
Eventually, she returned to her routines. Mushing. Hunting. Filming. But her motivation shifted. Where once she pushed forward for survival, now she moves for memory. Each trail she rides feels like a whisper to Carleigh.
Support From Afar
Fans flooded her inbox. Some wrote poems. Others simply said, “I’m so sorry.” It helped—those tiny lights in the dark. Sue leaned on them more than she expected.
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If you’ve watched Life Below Zero, you’ve seen her: the no-nonsense woman with a rifle, a snowsuit, and a determined jawline. But behind that toughness is someone who has loved and lost, just like the rest of us.
Her past relationships—like the one with Michael Heinrich, her former husband—are just that: past. She’s lived mostly alone for years, raising herself in the silence of Alaska.
But she’s not just surviving anymore. She’s carrying something now. Something soft and sacred. Carleigh.
And yes, she’s still on the show. Quietly. Steadily. Moving forward—but never forgetting.
So what happened to Sue Aikens’ granddaughter? A tragedy. A disappearance. A suspected murder. But more than that, the loss of a young woman with dreams, with music, with love to give.
It changed Sue. It shifted how she speaks, how she walks, and how she looks at the stars.
But Carleigh didn’t vanish entirely. She lingers in snowflakes. In dog tracks. In every step she takes along a frozen trail. That’s the thing about love—it doesn’t die. It just changes form.
Sue Aikens: Who is she?
She lives in the isolated woods of Alaska and is a survivalist and Life Below Zero star.
What happened to Sue Aikens’s granddaughter?
Carleigh Aikens went missing in early 2023. Her body was discovered two months later, and her death is under active investigation.
How old was Carleigh when she passed away?
She was just 27.
Does Sue Aikens have a husband?
She was previously married to Michael Heinrich, but they’re no longer together.
Where is Sue Aikens today?
She continues to live in Kavik River Camp, Alaska, where she’s filmed for Life Below Zero.
Did Sue Aikens have a granddaughter?
Yes, her name was Carleigh Aikens.
Is Sue Aikens still on Life Below Zero?
She is. She returned to the show after taking time to grieve.
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