Woman found dead in woods; foul play is not suspected

WASILLA — A woman walking through the woods near Fairview Loop apparently died of hypothermia, Alaska State Troopers report.

The call to respond to the report of a missing woman came in at 6:38 p.m. on Thursday, Troopers report. Linda Million, 49, of Wasilla, had not been seen nor heard from since early that morning. The last time she’d been seen was when she left a home on Fairview Loop at 5 a.m. that morning.

Troopers say they launched a helicopter and called in a couple of search-and-rescue groups — both Mat-Su Search and Rescue and the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. At 1:05 p.m. the next day searchers found Million in the woods north of the home where she’d last been seen.

“She was approximately a quarter of a mile away, but it wasn’t like a populated area. It was woods and marshy, swampy” ground, trooper spokeswoman Megan Peters said. “She was not prepared for the cold.”

According to the trooper report, the trooper helicopter flew Million’s remains to the state medical examiner’s office for an autopsy.

“Initial observations would suggest that she may have died from hypothermia,” Troopers report.

Peters said the scene surrounding Million yielded many clues that seemed to indicate Million reached at least the stage of hypothermia where the victim starts believing she’s getting overheated. None of the signs point to foul play.

“The classic signs — the clothes along the path. There’s no other footprints in the area. So there’s no suspicion in that regard,” Peters said.

Asked where Million was heading when she left the house, Peters replied, “She can’t tell us that.”

Asked if any of the people at the house told troopers where Million was heading, Peters said, “I don’t believe so.”

She said troopers are waiting for toxicology reports to find out if any drugs or alcohol were in Million’s system when she died.

“Toxicology is occurring, just to see if that will give us some more insight. There’s suspicion that she might have been impaired, but on what and to what extent we don’t know,” she said.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.