Details scarce after human remains found

PONDERAY — No new details emerged on Monday regarding the discovery of human remains on Saturday afternoon.

The body has not been positively identified, according to Bonner County Coroner Kitt Rose. A cause and manner of death are also pending.

Ponderay Police and a cadaver-detecting dog were searching a wooded area north of Schweitzer Plaza Drive when the remains were discovered. Authorities were searching the area after receiving several secondhand reports there was a body in the woods.

At least one of the reports was made anonymously to The Bonner County Daily Bee earlier this month. A reporter from the paper advised Ponderay Police of the report and inquired about its authenticity.

Ponderay Police Chief Mike Hutter said there were additional reports of a body in that area, which prompted the ground search.

There is some speculation that the remains could be those of Brendan Earl Carpenter, a 21-year-old who went missing in May. Carpenter was last seen leaving Bonner Gospel Mission and reportedly made comments that he was having suicidal thoughts.

Bonner County sheriff’s investigators obtained a subpoena to check for mobile phone or banking activity, which revealed none.

Hutter said it’s unknown if the remains are those of Carpenter, adding that a DNA test would likely have to be relied upon to determine the identity of the remains.

Rose said the remains were taken to the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy on Monday. She said it was not immediately clear how long it would take to receive the results of the examination.

Those with information concerning the circumstances of the person’s death or the identity of the remains or the whereabouts of Carpenter are asked to call the Ponderay Police Department at 265-4251 or Bonner Dispatch at 265-5525.