A dog on a hike with its owner on an Alaskan trail Sunday discovered what is believed to be the remains of a man who had been missing for weeks, Juneau police said.
Douglas Austin Martin Farnsworth, 32, was reported missing Sept. 29. Two days later, police found his pickup truck at a trail, the Juneau Police Department said in a release.
The hiker told police their dog ran about 100 yards off the hiking trail, so they followed it and discovered the remains, along with clothing items, a cellphone and a firearm believed to belong to Farnsworth.
The missing man’s family told local station KTOO they could identify the remains found as those of Farnsworth. The outlet said a large search-and-rescue operation initially included Alaska State Troopers, the Coast Guard and a local canine group. For the past few weeks, however, it has been led by family and community members.
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Police said the cause of death was not yet known and an autopsy would be performed.
“They did find some bones and his clothes and the gun and a phone. So we can’t really determine how death was, just because most of him is missing,” Farnsworth’s sister, Kiersten Farnsworth, told KTOO.
She said her family is looking to contact the hiker who found her brother’s remains to pay the $5,000 reward that had been offered for information in the case, KTOO reported.
“That dog deserves a trophy,” she said.
