Body found near Wasilla

WASILLA — Investigators for Alaska State Troopers, Anchorage Police Department and the Alaska Bureau of Investigation continue to examine the remains of a body discovered Thursday near Knik Goose Bay Road about five miles south of here.

Troopers responded to a call at about 2:30 p.m. Thursday that someone had found the remains of a deceased person in a wooded area about 200 yards up a dead-end road that branches off the west side of Knik Goose Bay Road, said Megan Peters, spokesperson for Alaska State Troopers. Peters was at the scene Friday, where the body remained most of the day while law enforcement personnel investigated.

Once troopers determined the remains were human, the Alaska Bureau of Investigation and Anchorage police detectives were called in to assist, Peters said. Other information about the discovery was not released.

Who the deceased person is, whether the body is a male or female, what condition the body was found in, how long it may have been in the area or if it is a person local te Wasilla is not being released while officials continue to comb the scene and next of kin is notified, Peters said.

The person who discovered the body is not believed to have been engaging in any illegal activity and the time, Peters said. Information about a formal identification and cause of death is pending results of an autopsy.

Peters also declined to speculate on whether the body could be that of Anchorage nurse Mindy Schloss, who has been missing since Aug. 3. Peters said there are about 1,100 open missing persons cases on the books for troopers that that, until a formal identification is made, the body could be any of those missing persons or someone else altogether.

This story will be updated as information becomes available.