Susan Beth Crawford
Skull of missing woman discovered
MAT-SU -- A human skull found by moose hunters along the Matanuska River has been identified as that of a Wasilla woman missing for five years, Alaska State Troopers said.
Susan Beth Crawford disappeared near Mile 89 Glenn Highway on Aug. 9, 1998. Her 1990 blue Ford Escort was found abandoned the next day at Mile 91 Glenn Highway.
Earlier this month, hunters found a skull in a wash about 50 yards west of the river and three miles downstream from Hicks Creek. On Tuesday, the State Medical Examiners office identified the skull as Crawford's, troopers said.
She was 46 years old when she disappeared, and had been living in the Wasilla area.
Trooper spokesman Greg Wilkinson said foul play is not suspected in the case. There was no evidence on the skull indicating foul play or the cause of death, he said.
Investigators plan to search the area of Hicks Creek for more evidence of Crawford.
Trooper Capt. Don Savage told the Frontiersman shortly after Crawford's disappearance that his office received a report of an "irrational person" at a cabin at Mile 89 Parks Highway. The person was reported to have gone into the woods. It may have been Crawford, Savage said at the time, but there were no other clues to her whereabouts.
"We can't rule out that she was picked up by someone, but we don't have any information to suggest she left the area, either," he was quoted as saying.
She was wearing gray sweat pants, sandals and a sweatshirt when last seen. Tracking dogs and more than 70 people looked for Crawford in rough terrain near the Matanuska glacier before the search was called off.
May 19, 1949-last seen Aug 9,1998
Article Last Updated: Wednesday, September 24, 2003 - 3:58:44 PM AKST
Remains of Missing Wasilla Woman Identified
By Christina Cotterman
A human skull recently found by hunters along the Matanuska River near Hicks Creek has been identified.
The state medical examiner's office I-D the skull as that of Susan Beth Crawford. Crawford was 46 years old when she disappeared in August of 1998. She lived in the Wasilla area and was last seen on the Glenn Highway.
Her car was found on the Glenn a few days after she vanished. Investigators are now planning on searching the area of Hicks Creek for more evidence... but so far... there is no evidence on the skull that indicates foul play or a cause of death.
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Anchorage, AK
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Susan Beth Crawford, 54, was reported missing in August 1998.
Hunters find remains of missing Knik woman
Yvonne Ramsay
Anchorage, Alaska, Sept. 24 - She's been missing for five years, and just last week moose hunters in the Valley discovered the skull of 54-year-old Susan Beth Crawford of Knik.
The search for Crawford began in August 1998 after her boyfriend reported the woman missing and troopers discovered her car abandoned near Mile 69 of the Glenn Highway.
Alaska State Troopers launched a search for Crawford using tracking dogs and nearly 70 volunteers, but they were forced to end the search because they did not have enough clues to go on.
The skull was found Sept. 14 about five miles from the abandoned car near the Matanuska River.
Troopers say the death is not suspicious, but they will be searching for more evidence in the Hicks Creek area.
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