Learn about Nome’s current missing persons cases | Dateline NBC

In 1925, the burgeoning community of Nome, Alaska, faced a crisis that threatened its future development and its greatest wealth: its children. A deadly diphtheria outbreak required a valuable shipment of antitoxin from 674 miles away. With early aviation technology grounded by winter, the entire enterprise depended on a more traditional solution, a desperate relay of men and dogs against a brutal Alaskan landscape. The missions success hinged on the most dangerous leg, a responsibility given to