Photo: Kotzebue Police Department
A 10-year-old Alaska girl who went missingon Sept. 6 was found dead eight days later — and a man has been arrested in connection with the case, PEOPLE confirms.
Ashley Johnson-Barr’s remains were found near Kotzebue, the northwestern Alaskan town where she lived with her family and where she was last seen, Alaska State Troopers said in a statement Friday.
There was no information on Ashley’s cause of death.
Spokesperson Jonathon Taylor of the Alaska State Troopers said in an email to PEOPLE that Ashley’s body was found “on the tundra based on evidence collected during the investigation which led law enforcement to conduct additional searches in targeted areas.”
Wilson is charged with making false statements to a federal agent investigating the child’s death. Wilson has not been charged directly in Ashley’s death.
Investigators are continuing to search the area where Ashley’s body was found for more clues, according to the State Troopers.
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Ashley was last seen at about 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 6 at Rainbow Park playground in Kotzebue, Troopers had said in a statement. Her family reported her missing when she failed to return home.
Ashley’s cell phone was found in the streetabout a half-mile from the parkbut in the opposite direction from her home, according to a statement from Kotzebue Police Chief Thomas Milliette, theDaily Newspreviously reported.
Ashley was close to her family, responsible and not someone who would run away or hide, her father, Walter “Scotty” Barr, told KTUU after she disappeared. With her 8:30 p.m. curfew, Barr said he grew worried when she failed to come home before nightfall, KTUU reports.
Anyone with details or knowledge about the case are encouraged to call the Alaska State Troopers at 907-451-5100.
source: people.com
