Family members have identified the person found dead in the Southeast community of Kake Tuesday night as a 13-year-old girl, Mackenzie H. Howard of Kake.
Alaska State Troopers say Howard was found by a member of the community inside the Memorial Presbyterian Church.
Troopers are expected to remain in the community Thursday interviewing residents and processing what they’re calling a crime scene. However troopers have not classified the death as anything other than a death investigation.
Howard’s body is being sent to Anchorage for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of her death.
Joe Viechnicki is a reporter at KFSK in Petersburg.