UPDATED WITH NEW VIDEO: Body Found at Earthquake Park Monday is Missing Woman Letitia Baxter

No information from police on cause of death

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By Megan Edge

Story Created: Sep 25, 2012 at 7:44 AM AKDT

Story Updated: Sep 27, 2012 at 7:02 AM AKDT

UPDATE: Wednesday, Sept. 26 - Police say the medical examiner's office has identified the remains of the body, via dental records, as that of missing 63-year-old Letitia Baxter, first reported missing on August 3.

Cause of death has not been determined, according to APD, and their investigation continues.

ANCHORAGE – There was a gruesome discovery in Earthquake Park Monday afternoon.

Human remains were discovered just off the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail, and Anchorage’s CSI team was called to Earthquake Park.

The police activity was shocking and frightening for the people trying to use the trail. KTVA spoke to several who said although they will go back to using the trail, they are nervous about what they might find.

“Its really scary, I like to come down here and run after work and ya know going on a walk today, and then there is all these trucks, and vans and you don't really know what its about,” said Anchorage resident and frequent trail user Bridget Psarianos.

Shortly before 3 p.m. someone called police to report human remains had been found in the woods near the Tony Knowles Coastal Trail.

Psarinos uses the trail often, but on Monday police stopped her and others and told them to turn around.

“I’m kind of creeped out, little nervous for the next time I go on a run, what I might find.”

Anchorage police are releasing very little information about the discovery, including whether or not foul play was involved.

They say until the medical examiner’s office performs an autopsy, they won’t know whether the body was that of a man, woman, boy or girl.

Those who had been in the area said the body had been decomposing for quite some time. In the meantime regular trail users said they will go back once the crime scene investigators have cleared out.

“Generally there are a lot of people using the trail, but there is never a really big police presence on the trail,” said a nervous Psarianos, who runs the trail three times a week. “So I have always thought that it would be better if they had more patrols, and actual police looking around and keeping an eye on things, rather than relying on the fact that there are always crowds.”

Police won’t say how long the remains had been in that location, but plan on releasing that information after the medical examiner's office has done a full autopsy Tuesday.
 

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Robin Scheff said on Thursday, Sep 27 at 8:57 PM

Megan needs to work on her speaking skills on camera. She speaks to quickly and often is hard to understand because she's not hitting the consonants properly. She just needs some public speaking training in my opinion. This is a very sensitive situation with the finding of this poor woman's body and she needs to show a slight amount of resignation or something in her voice that would indicate this was understandably a terrible thing that has happened. Please Megan, slow down just a little and enunciate better.

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