In Alaska, a family sifting through a departed relative’s belongings stumbled upon a startling find: human remains.
On July 19, authorities were alerted when a freezer containing these remains was uncovered in a locked shed on a property situated along Glacier Highway. The grim discovery was made during an estate clean-up following the loss of a family member, as detailed in a press release from the Juneau Police Department.
The authorities suspect the remains might be those of a male family member, although final identification awaits the State Medical Examiner’s confirmation. The duration these remains lingered in the freezer remains a mystery.
Curiously, investigators noted there was never a missing persons report lodged with the Juneau Police Department related to this individual.
Deputy Police Chief Krag Campbell shared with the Juneau Independent that the deceased is believed to be between 50 and 80 years old. There were no visible signs of trauma such as stab or gunshot wounds, but it is premature to rule out foul play.
“The biggest kind of unknown is ‘When did they get put in the freezer?’” Campbell told Alaska Public Media. “That’s going to help pinpoint our investigation and do that as well as collecting evidence to see who might have done this.”
He added, “I can only speak for Juneau, but [this is] very unusual, not something I’ve seen or heard of before.”
However, there is no known threat to the public.
“Anytime we have somebody missing, someone’s immediately jumping to ‘there’s a serial killer on the loose,’” Campbell told the Juneau Independent. “We’re really just trying to say this probably seems isolated based off of a family member to the person who found them in the home where they’re associated with. It’s not like some random person is in the fridge. We’re trying to indicate it’s isolated to this one core event and this one family.”
A spokesperson for the Juneau Police Department and the Alaska State Medical Examiner’s Office did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Oxygen.