Alaska State Troopers report that the remains found in the Chitina area on April 19th have been positively identified as those of an Anchorage man who was reported missing on February 2nd.

Troopers responded to the scene of remains reported by a Chitina area resident on Monday morning and located the remains of 34-year-old Ian Lutz approximately 70 yards from where Lutz’s vehicle went into the ditch late on the night of February 1st. An on scene investigation was carried out and troopers reported no signs of foul play. His remains were sent to the State Medical Examiners office for positive identification.

Lutz had been reported missing late on February 2nd. The person reporting his missing status reported that he had been last seen at 11 pm the previous night. His vehicle was found down an embankment near the Chitina Village Apartments. The temperatures in the area were 20 to 30 degrees below zero at the time of his disappearance.

Troopers conducted a hasty search of the area with no results. AST, AWT, and VPSO personnel would return and carry out another search during daylight hours. An sUAS was also utilized to search the area around the vehicle.

In the following week of searching, MATSAR K9 Search Teams were brought in to search as was HELO-3. Search efforts were discontinued on February 8th.

Lutz’s next of kin have been notified of the SME’s results.

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