The remains of an Alaska teen missing for nearly two years have been found, triggering a murder investigation, police said.
Ataja Banks was reported missing on Oct. 21, 2023, after she disappeared from the Anchorage area, according to a press release from state troopers. Police said at the time that Banks’ family last heard from her in mid-September of the same year, and noted she was last seen alive in the in the Mat-Su Valley.
Authorities struggled to locate her in the years since, but on September 4, troopers uncovered human remains off Moose Meadows Road in Wasilla.
The State Medical Examiner’s Office on Tuesday confirmed they belonged to Banks. State troopers in an update added that an autopsy has been complete, but the cause of death has not yet been provided.
“Information learned during the investigation leads Troopers to believe that Banks was murdered,” the update said. “The Alaska Bureau of Investigation is continuing its investigation into Ataja’s murder.”
Authorities did not say what specific evidence they found suggesting that Banks had been killed. Few other details have been provided.
