Possible human remains found during Haines Highway construction
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TweetWork at a small section of the Haines Highway reconstruction project was stopped Monday — and will remain suspended indefinitely — after possible human remains were unearthed.
“Some remains were located. We don’t have any details to share on the location just because that’s confidential information. We don’t want people to go out to those sites,” said Alaska Department of Transportation spokesperson Sam Dapcevich. “At this point we’re following our policy and our agreements that we have with agencies and tribes.”
In accordance with policy, the state will presume that remains are human until they have been examined and a formal determination has been made. Dapcevich said the state is working with Chilkoot Indian Association (CIA) and Chilkat Indian Village (CIA) to determine how to handle and transfer the remains.
CIA council president James Hart confirmed that CIA was notified and said the tribe is deliberating about next steps.
Dapcevich said the state also, per its policy, notified the Haines Borough Police Department, Alaska State Troopers, the Alaska State Medical Examiner and the Alaska Office of History and Archaeology, among other agencies.
Haines Borough police chief Heath Scott confirmed the police department was notified Tuesday and said it’s still very early in the process of determining if the remains are human. He said the police department is working with the state and tribes, which are taking a lead on the situation.
Dapcevich said construction would proceed elsewhere along the road. “They’re going to be able to continue with the project without too much disruption,” he said.
An agreement among state agencies and tribes on the highway project outlines several steps that must be taken when remains are discovered. Dapcevich said it’s not clear at this point how long it will be before a determination is made about the nature of the remains.
Given the cultural sensitivity of the issue, more specific information about the finding has not been made public.
