Fire crews working the Funny River Horse Trail wildfire found human remains near Sterling Sunday. Alaska State Troopers said the remains appeared to have been there for several years.
Troopers responded to the scene with assistance from the fire crew’s helicopter at about 6:30 p.m. Investigators photographed and collected the bones, but no identifying items could be located, according to a trooper dispatch Monday.
Trooper spokesperson Megan Peters said the identity and gender of the remains are unknown and troopers are reviewing cases from the Missing Persons Clearing House database to pinpoint a timeline and area.
“Missing persons cases can give us clues to who it was,” Peters said. “It will be hard to determine because the remains are several years old. Hopefully the person was reported missing otherwise we will have a mystery on our hands.”
Troopers notified the State Medical Examiners Office of the discovery, but the remains have not yet arrived at the SME office in Anchorage, said state public health information officer Greg Wilkinson Monday afternoon. He said he could not confirm whether the remains were found within the burned wildfire acreage area.
Michelle Weston, spokesperson for the Alaska Incident Management Team in charge of fire operations for the Funny River Horse Trail wildfire, said the remains were found by fire crews, but would not comment about which team found the remains or the exact location. She said troopers are handling the investigation and cannot release any information at this time.
Currently there are 89 active missing Alaskans, according to the Alaska Bureau of Investigation.
Reach Dan Balmer at daniel.balmer@peninsulaclarion.com
