Remains found in forest identified

SANDPOINT — Human remains discovered on a remote mountainside last month have been positively identified as those of James Allen Ridley, according to the Bonner County Sheriff's Office.

Ridley was last seen in Bonner County by a roommate on April 27, 1998, sheriff's officials said. A "good-bye note" was discovered and Ridley's friend believed the man was returning to California, where he previously lived.

Given the apparent circumstances, a missing persons report was never filed, Lt. Gary Johnston said in a press release.

Ridley's death remains under investigation and the sheriff's office is seeking information from the public.

Investigators pored over records from various states and turned up information that the remains might be those of Ridley, 52. Ridley lived in Stephens County, Georgia, but was listed as deceased in 1977.

Sheriff's officials here contacted authorities in Stephens County, who interviewed Ridley's ex-wife. Ridley reportedly fled Georgia in 1977 while owing a large amount of back child support.

He was not seen or heard from again and a presumptive death certificate was filed in 2001, which listed Ridley's date of death as 1977, the last time he was seen there.

Investigators here obtained dental records from a retired Sandpoint-area dentist who had worked on the teeth of man who identified himself as James Allen Ridley. A forensic odontologist compared dental records with the remains and concluded they matched.

The remains were discovered on Strawberry Mountain by elk hunters on Oct. 11. Strawberry Mountain is located in the Grouse Creek drainage northeast of Sandpoint.

Ridley skull had a hole in it, although investigators have not disclosed what they believe produced the hole. Bits of clothing, hiking boots and remnants of a what appeared to be a gun holster were also reportedly discovered in the area the remains were found in.