Scattered Human Remains Found In Wind River Mountains

Hunters found separated human bones scattered in a remote area near the Sweetwater Guard Station Campground earlier this month, the Sublette County Sheriff’s Office reports.

The sheriff’s office responded to the area Sept. 6 for a report of “human remains discovered by hunters,” says a statement agency spokesman Lt. Travis Bingham released Wednesday evening.

Deputies and detectives found “disarticulated human skeletal remains scattered along with a tent and personal items” that appear to have been in the area for about five years, the statement says.

Preliminary findings suggest the remains are of an adult male.

Investigators found an identification card but have not yet confirmed the person’s identity or cause of death, the statement says.

“However, foul play does not seem to be a factor,” wrote Bingham. “No missing person reports have been matched to the remains or the location.”

The statement urges anyone who’s visited the Sweetwater Gap area in recent years and possibly encountered bones, camping equipment or other personal items to contact Detective Hana Patterson at hpatterson@sublettecountywy.gov, or Detective Sgt. Travis Lanning tlanning@sublettecountywy.gov.

Occasionally …

The remains were northwest of the Sweetwater Guard Station Campground, which sits on the eastward Fremont County side of the county line.

The Wind River Mountain Range beckons “occasional” search and rescue (SAR) missions for both Sublette and Fremont County authorities, each sheriff’s office told Cowboy State Daily on Thursday.

The area where the bones were found is “very remote” and somewhat near a trailhead on the south end of Sublette County, in the Wind River mountains, Bingham said in a Thursday text message.

“Not a lot of SAR there but occasional,” added Bingham.

Fremont County Undersheriff Mike Hutchison said the Fremont County side of that range doesn’t prompt a lot of search and rescue calls, though the Cirque De Towers area to the north tends to be “pretty busy.”

“At least on the Fremont County side (of the Wind River mountains), I mean, we do have things occasionally up there,” said Hutchison.

Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.