Fourth body found in Valley this month

WASILLA — A hunter reported locating a deceased man along a trail near Jess Road Sunday morning.

Alaska State Troopers from patrol and the Alaska Bureau of Investigation were dispatched to the scene to investigate around 11:05 a.m., Oct. 20, according to an AST dispatch.

The man’s body was transported to the State Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy to determine the person’s identity and cause of death.

This is the fourth body Valley residents have found and reported to troopers this month. Troopers say foul play is not suspected in any of the deaths.

“The first two were not suspicious at all. We are still waiting for autopsy on the third and the fourth. From what I know, there isn’t a way they can be connected,” AST spokeswoman Megan Peters wrote in an email Monday.

The first body was discovered around 6:45 p.m., Oct. 4 in the backyard of a Wasilla home, according to an AST dispatch. The State Medical Examiner’s Office identified the man as Shane Pickens, 41, of Wasilla, who was reported missing in the area on Sept. 14.

The second body, Daniel Razo, 59, of Anchorage, was reported around 9 a.m., Oct. 6 in a ditch near the end of a driveway off Knapp Road in Big Lake, troopers say.

A person walking a dog near Moose Creek found the third set of human remains around 4:30 p.m., Oct. 11. Troopers say they have made a tentative identification for the male, but won’t release the information until the medical examiner’s report confirms his identity, AST spokesperson Megan Peters said.

She said troopers think the man was wanted on an outstanding felony warrant and that his vehicle was found parked in the area in mid-August.