Bodies found believed to be Alaska family missing for almost a year, possible murder-suicide

Alaska police say they are confident that the human remains and clothing that were found last Saturday night belong to a family of four who have been missing since last May, although the bodies have not been officially identified. Rebecca Adams, 23, her two daughters, Michelle Hundley, 6 and Jaracca Hundley, 3, and Adams’ boyfriend Brandon Jividen, 38, vanished with their dog last Memorial Day weekend. The family lived in Kenai, a fishing community about 65 miles southwest of Anchorage.

Family members said that the family appeared to have left without packing. Their two vehicles were parked outside the home and the June rent had not been paid. Camping gear and the children’s car seats were still there. The bodies were found within a half-mile of the home, just off a wooded trail which is used mostly by snowmobiles and four-wheelers.

A gun was found with the bodies that matches the serial number on a box found in the missing family’s home. Lt. Dave Ross of the Kenai police said that there is no reason to believe anyone else was involved in the deaths, and that it appears that they died in the location where the bodies were found. Authorities say it appears that the deaths may have been a murder-suicide.

Authorities had conducted a massive search when the family was first reported missing, covering a wide area around their home. Ross said that the bodies were very difficult to see, located in a depression about 15 yards from the trail, amid bushes and grass. A person driving a vehicle on the trail called police after noticing clothing in the brush.

Jividen was said to be an avid hunter, but few other details have been released about the family. Jaramiah Hundley, father of Michelle and Jaracca, was killed in a motorcycle crash in 2012.

Adams’ sister had previously told reporters that the last time she spoke to Rebecca was on Memorial Day weekend, and she sounded as though she were in distress, although she did not indicate what was wrong. Relatives later asked police to check on the family, who could not be found.

The findings have caused investigators to reclassify the case from a missing persons to a homicide investigation. Ross stated that the investigation is “very much in an active stage.”

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