Mark Austin Dunne : Mark Austin Dunne of Phoenix Identified in Flagstaff Remains

Accident – Death – Obituary News : : 1. Flagstaff remains identification
2. Mark Austin Dunne Phoenix discovery

In autumn 2019, a hiker found human skeletal remains at the foot of Mount Elden in the wooded area northeast of Flagstaff in Coconino County. The initial attempts to identify the remains were unsuccessful. Five years later, the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office finally identified the remains as Mark Austin Dunne, a man reported missing from Phoenix in 2017. Dunne was reported missing to the Phoenix Police Department in March 2017 after no contact with his family for an extended period. Despite uncertainty about when Dunne arrived in Flagstaff, investigations suggest he had been camping there for a while. Dunne’s cause of death remains undetermined.

In the autumn of 2019, a hiker made a chilling discovery at the base of Mount Elden, a densely forested area located northeast of Flagstaff in Coconino County. The hiker stumbled upon human skeletal remains, sparking a mystery that would take five long years to solve.

**Identification of the Remains**

Initial attempts by investigators to identify the remains proved fruitless, leaving authorities puzzled and the case unsolved. However, in a recent breakthrough, officials from the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office were finally able to put a name to the bones – Mark Austin Dunne. Dunne had been reported missing from Phoenix back in 2017, adding a tragic twist to the already perplexing case.

**Disappearance and Discovery**

According to official reports, Dunne was reported missing to the Phoenix Police Department in March 2017 after a prolonged period of no communication with his family. While the exact timeline of Dunne’s arrival in the Flagstaff area remains unclear, the scene investigation indicated that he had been camping in the area for an extended period before his untimely demise.

**Collaborative Efforts**

In a bid to positively identify the remains, sheriff’s officials collaborated with a Salt Lake City-based forensics firm last year. The partnership aimed to employ a forensic genetic genealogy process to establish a concrete link between the remains and Dunne’s genetic profile. The breakthrough came in February of this year when a potential match was discovered through a family lineage, bringing closure to a long-standing mystery.

**Positive Identification**

A DNA sample extracted from the remains was meticulously compared to that of Dunne’s family members, ultimately confirming the identity of the skeletal remains as belonging to Dunne. Despite this positive identification, the cause of Dunne’s death remains shrouded in uncertainty, leaving detectives with unanswered questions and the case with lingering mysteries.

**Final Thoughts**

The discovery of Mark Austin Dunne’s remains after five years of uncertainty serves as a sobering reminder of the importance of closure for loved ones of missing individuals. While the circumstances surrounding Dunne’s disappearance and subsequent demise may never be fully elucidated, the resolution of this case brings a sense of finality to a tragic chapter in the lives of those who knew him.