Finally a name for woman missing for two years, alone in Houston woods

It doesn’t seem to happen here as much as other places, but occasionally somebody goes missing and isn’t found for a long time.

Such was the case this past week when the remains of Donnay Box were found off King Arthur Drive in Houston. She would have been 22 this summer.

Our reporting after the initial discovery late last week got a boost when a woman called and said she was worried that the body might be the sister she hadn’t seen in about two years.

It turns out the sister’s concerns were realized.

Closure is an often over-used word, but when family members worry about relatives they’ve lost touch with, even bad news can be a relief. At least they know more than they did.

Of course, closure isn’t really possible until the family finds out why, how and when. The investigation into the details of Box’s death remain ongoing.

Eventually, the family will get that information and then can try to move on.

That’s more than the family of Michael Palmer has.

The 12-year-old went to a graduation party he shouldn’t have and didn’t come home from it more than a decade ago.

His story has been told many times in the Frontiersman and even on national television. Yet his presumed death remains a mystery all these years.

That’s why when a body was found in the woods, many people here who are long-time residents immediately thought, maybe even hoped, it would be Michael.

His bicycle and a pair of shoes were found by the Little Su River. He had been with friends riding home from the party when they went different ways. That’s the last anyone has seen him, except for the possibility he was abducted.

Rumors have circulated for years regarding who might have had a hand in his disappearance.

Alaska State Troopers investigated his disappearance diligently. People talked to neighbors, fliers went up. News accounts were abundant. Still, nearly 11 years later, nothing tells us what happened that night in early June.

Adding to the heartache for the Palmer family is that one of Michael’s older brothers, Charles, went missing last month on a snowmachine trip. Searches for him turned up only his snowmachine.

At least the family has some hope of finding Charles. There is a general area to search when the snow melts.

Two families, three tragic tales and many questions yet to be answered.