At the coroner's inquest, testimony from friends and notes from Mr. McCunn's diary suggested that he had failed to make specific arrangements to be picked up. The coroner's jury ruled his death a suicide.

In early diary entries, he wrote of the return of the animals to their summer grounds and commented, ''Humans are so out of their 'modern-day' element in a place like this.''

By early August, with his supplies dwindling, his concern grew. ''I think I should have used more foresight about arranging my departure,'' he wrote. ''I'll soon find out.''

By mid-August his diary entries were not dated; he spent much of his time searching for food, shooting some ducks and muskrats and drying the meat of a caribou that died in the lake. His anxiety grew.

He wrote: ''Come on, please. Don't leave me hangin' and frettin' like this. I didn't come out here for that.'' Meanwhile, concerned friends asked the Alaska State Troopers to check on Mr. McCunn. Trooper David Hamilton flew over Mr. McCunn's camp. He testified that he had seen Mr. McCunn waving a red bag. He said he circled, and Mr. McCunn ''waved in a casual manner and watched us fly by.''

''On the third pass he turned and walked back toward the tent, slowly, casually,'' Mr. Hamilton said. ''We surmised there was no immediate danger or need for emergency aid.'' Realized He Gave Wrong Signal

In his diary, Mr. McCunn tells of being elated on sighting the plane, then realizing that he had given the wrong signal to the pilot.