Alaska State Troopers report that they have recovered the remains of a person they believe is 25-year-old Tyler West of Anchorage, the trooper dispatch revealed on Friday.

West was reported as a missing person to the Anchorage Police Department on July 16th, 2016.

At 10 pm on July 25th, Alaska State Troopers located an abandoned white Ford Ranger at mile 177 of the Richardson Highway near Paxson. After completing a computer check on the vehicle, it was found that the vehicle was associated to West. 

The next day, July 26th, troopers began a search of the area in an effort to locate West. The Alaska Wildlife Trooper’s Helo-4 joined the search by air.

On July 27th, Matanuska Search and rescue initiated a search with canines, and at 5:45 pm that day, the body of a male was located east of the Richardson Highway. The remains, that showed signs of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, was not immediately identifiable, but documents found on the remains indicated the body to be that of West.

The remains have been sent to the State Medical Examiner’s office in Anchorage for autopsy and positive identification. Next of kin have been notified.

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