Mindy Schloss' body found in Wasilla

Lt. Paul Honeman said Schloss was identified through dental records, but he could not release any other information, including the cause of death, citing the ongoing investigation.

Scloss' sister-in-law, Mary Schloss, said her family was contacted late Friday by Anchorage police, who informed them the six-week search had come to a close.

"It's good that it's over, that they found her," she said. "Now it's time to get on with the trial. Now that they have her, hopefully they can get some good evidence."

Police, FBI agents and Alaska state troopers spent Friday cataloging a crime scene in a wooded area off West Murray Road. The undeveloped site, known for attracting outlaw teenage parties, is about five miles from downtown Wasilla.

Someone unrelated to the case found Schloss' body Thursday and called troopers, said Megan Peters, Alaska State Trooper spokeswoman. She would not say who the person was who called troopers.

From Knik-Goose Bay Road, South Partch Drive heads into a thick forest of birch and spruce, making a "T" with West Murray Drive. The body was found a few hundred yards off Murray, Peters said.

Neighbors could see officers working through the night Thursday with the help of generator-powered electric lights. Police said the body is somewhat decomposed.

Troopers parked a van at the intersection of Partch and Murray on Friday afternoon, blocking traffic and holding media there. On the southwest corner of the intersection sat a rotting moose head. The rest of the animal was closer to the body, Peters said.

Schloss was reported missing Aug. 6, but likely disappeared two or three days before that. Early this month, her neighbor Joshua Wade, 27, was arrested and charged in federal court with bank fraud for using her ATM card on Aug. 5 and 6. He stole $1,000, before an ATM machine kept his card, the FBI said.

Her Acura was found in a parking lot near the airport after her disappearance. Wade's DNA was found on the steering wheel, investigators said.

Wade has not been charged in connection with her death, but he has a record of violence and stealing. In 2003, he was acquitted of murdering Della Brown, 33, in a Spenard shack. In 2000, he was arrested on felony charges of robbery and burglary, which were later reduced. He has a history of smaller crimes and domestic violence.

It took police almost a week to find Wade after the federal warrant was issued for his arrest.

In a hearing Monday related to the fraud charges, an FBI agent testified that Wade hid when he learned police were looking for him. Friends told investigators he clipped newspaper articles about Schloss and watched the news. He asked for money and said he planned to go to the Mat-Su area to hide out.

In the Valley, Mindy Nix, who lives off Knik-Goose Bay Road, first saw police in her backyard on Thursday. It didn't take long to figure out they were on to something high-profile, she said. The area where the body was found is notorious for teenage parties and homeless squatters, she said. People sometimes ride ATVs or play paint ball there. She would never go there or let her children play in those woods, she said.

"It's really scary," she said.

State medical examiner Franc Fallico showed up at the site late Friday and removed the body to his office for examination. He deferred all questions to Anchorage police, and Honeman said he didn't know when the results of an autopsy could be expected.

Reporter Andrew Wellner contributed to this story. Find Julia O'Malley online at adn.com/contact/jomalley or call 257-4591. Find James Halpin at adn.com/contact/jhalpin or call 257-4589.