Police investigators in Kenai are confident they’ve found the remains of a family missing since last May.
A homicide investigation is underway for missing 22-year-old Rebecca Adams, her daughters, 5-year-old Michelle Hundley and 3-year-old Jaracca and Adams’ boyfriend, 37-year-old Brandon Jividen. The family left virtually no trace when they were last seen 10 months ago – until this weekend.
“Saturday evening, about 9:50, Kenai police received notification from a person traveling in the area that they saw a piece of clothing off the trail, they got out, and located what appeared to be human remains,” Kenai Police Lieutenant David Ross said.
Ross gave few details on what exactly was found, but did say a hand gun was also left at the scene, and that the remains match with what they had been searching for.
“The clothes are consistent, the size, the location,” Ross said. “We’re very confident it is, but obviously we’ll be looking for the medical examiners confirmation through DNA testing and so forth.”
Local police, the FBI and scores of other family members, friends and neighbors combed the area in North Kenai for months, but had turned up little. The remains were found in an area very near the missing family’s apartment, in a low-lying area, just off a trail that’s passable for vehicles.
“You know, I can only speculate how close searchers may have come and why that was difficult to find,” Ross said. “But searching for things or people in the Alaska wilderness is not an easy thing to find people.”
Ross read from a statement prepared on behalf of Rebecca Adams’ family. It said they are grateful for the continued support of the community as well as the time and effort put into this investigation by local, state and federal law enforcement agencies.
The family does not plan to give any interviews and asked for privacy as the investigation continues.
Shaylon Cochran is a host and reporter at KDLL in Kenai. He’s reported on fishing, energy, agriculture and local politics since coming to Alaska in 2011. He has worked at KDLL/KBBI on the Kenai Peninsula, where he picked up lots of new hobbies, like smoking salmon, raising chickens, skiing and counting RV’s. He holds a bachelors degree in Journalism from Iowa State University.
