Alaska News

Human remains discovered by crew battling Kenai Peninsula wildfire

A crew working on the massive Funny River wildfire on the Kenai Peninsula found unidentified human remains Sunday near the community of Sterling, according to the Alaska State Troopers.

There were no identifying items discovered with the remains, which appeared to be several years old, according to a dispatch from troopers, who flew to the scene in a fire crew helicopter.

The troopers are waiting for information from the state's medical examiner on the age and sex of the remains, said spokeswoman Megan Peters. She declined to provide more information about how the remains were found.

Peters said troopers are reviewing cases in a missing persons database to help with identification.

"We have a lot of unanswered questions. We want to know why this person is there," she said.

"We don't even know if it's a suspicious case or not, because we don't know who the person is," she added.

Contact Nathaniel Herz at nherz@adn.com.

Nathaniel Herz

Anchorage-based independent journalist Nathaniel Herz has been a reporter in Alaska for nearly a decade, with stints at the Anchorage Daily News and Alaska Public Media. Read his newsletter, Northern Journal, at natherz.substack.com

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