Man's death undetermined

PONDERAY — The cause of death of a Bonner County man whose skeletal remains were discovered in a wooded area cannot be determined.

Brendan Earl Carpenter’s remains were found north of Schweitzer Plaza Drive on Dec. 15, 2012.

Carpenter, 21, was last seen leaving the Bonner Gospel Mission in May 2012. The Bonner County Sheriff’s Office put out a missing persons report indicating that Carpenter had made suicidal remarks.

Carpenter was found in a noose that was attached to a tree that appeared to have buckled under the weight of his body. There were no signs of blunt-force trauma evident on the remains, according to Ponderay Police Chief Mike Hutter.

Although the scant evidence suggests Carpenter took his own life, authorities said the death cannot be conclusively declared a suicide due to the advanced decomposition of the remains.

“They were not able to determine a cause of death,” said Bonner County Coroner Kitt Rose, referring to medical examiners in Spokane who conducted Carpenter’s autopsy.

The state of the remains also thwarted a toxicological examination, Rose said.

Hutter said there are no suspects in the case, although investigators are still trying to track down an individual who spoke of Carpenter at a bar around the time his remains were found.

“The case is open,” said Hutter. “We’re still following up with any leads we get, but at this point we have no additional leads. It may remain open indefinitely.”

Ponderay Police and a cadaver-detecting dog scoured with woods behind the Walmart Supercenter after someone anonymously reported to The Daily Bee that there was a dead body in that area.

Carpenter was born and raised in California and studied motorcycle mechanics in Arizona before relocating to Idaho, according to his obituary.