Alaska police 'very confident' remains, clothing belong to missing family

By Steve Quinn JUNEAU, Alaska (Reuters) - Police said on Monday they were confident that human remains and clothing found over the weekend belonged to an Alaska family of four missing for 10 months, and that a homicide investigation had begun. Rebecca Adams, 23, her two daughters, aged 3 and 6, and her 38-year-old boyfriend, Brandon Jividen, were reported missing in May 2014 from their home in Kenai, 65 miles southwest of Anchorage. The family dog, Sparks, also vanished with them. "The clothing and things at the scene are consistent with the missing family," Kenai Lieutenant David Ross told a news conference. "From what we can tell, there are four people in the human remains." Investigators also found a handgun with a serial number that matched the number on a gun box in the family's apartment, and discovered the remains of a dog in the same area, Ross said. The remains were discovered by an unidentified person on Saturday night in a depression 15 yards off a trail that is part of a lightly wooded area a half mile from where the family lived, Ross said. The area lies away from parts of Kenai where authorities and dog teams focused a search last summer and autumn. Ross said investigators were awaiting a medical examiner to identify the bodies. The findings prompted investigators to reclassify the case as a homicide investigation from a missing persons case, Ross said. Ross said there was no indication the remains were moved to that area but investigators were not "ruling it out." "If you've been out there, you know the Alaska wilderness is a challenging place to search," Ross said. "As much as we would like to have closed this story earlier, we're glad that they were found." (Reporting by Steve Quinn; Editing by Peter Cooney)