An Anchorage man is facing two counts of second-degree murder after the body of a man who went missing in 2016 was found last year in Turnagain Pass.
State prosecutors accuse Jose Miguel Contreras Evangelista of fatally shooting 46-year-old Jose Gonzalez in July 2016.
Evangelista, 39, was indicted on murder charges Friday by an Anchorage grand jury.
Gonzalez was reported missing by his co-workers on July 16, 2016, Anchorage police said at the time. The behavior was unusual and Gonzalez’s family and employer were concerned, police said.
Alaska State Troopers recovered human remains in Turnagain Pass in the summer of 2021 and police said they were identified as Gonzalez early this year. Officials said in May that the death was being investigated as a homicide.
Police did not say how they connected Evangelista to the death or if they suspected foul play in Gonzalez’s initial disappearance. No other information was available about the circumstances of the shooting. A police spokeswoman declined to answer questions Tuesday because the case has not yet gone to trial.
Evangelista is being held at Goose Creek Correctional Center, according to online records. He is scheduled to appear in court Wednesday.