Remains found near Flagstaff identified as Mark Austin Dunne, missing since 2017

In the fall of 2019, a hiker discovered human skeletal remains at the base of Mount Elden, a heavily wooded area northeast of Flagstaff in Coconino County. Initial efforts by investigators to identify the remains were unsuccessful.

Five years later, officials from the Coconino County Sheriff's Office were finally able to identify the remains as Mark Austin Dunne, a man who was reported missing from Phoenix in 2017.

According to official reports, Dunne was reported missing to the Phoenix Police Department in March 2017 after an extended period of no contact with his family. While it is unclear when Dunne arrived in the Flagstaff area, the scene investigation indicates he had been camping there for an extended period.

Last year, sheriff's officials partnered with a Salt Lake City-based forensics firm in an attempt to positively identify the remains through a forensic genetic genealogy process. In February earlier this year, a potential match linking the remains to Dunne was discovered through a family line.

A DNA sample collected from the remains was then compared to that of Dunne’s family members, which positively identified the remains as belonging to Dunne, officials said.

Dunne’s cause of death could not be determined and remains unknown, detectives concluded.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Remains found in Flagstaff identified as Mark Austin Dunne of Phoenix