The skeletal remains discovered in the Swamp Creek area of Nez Perce County have been identified as Alan Sloan, a man reported missing in December 2021. The Spokane Medical Examiner’s Office confirmed the identification after the bones were found March 28 by a shed hunter and family members.
Sloan had failed to contact family members and was not from the local area. His pickup truck was located abandoned and stuck near Wapshilla Ridge. Trail camera footage captured an image of Sloan the day after his disappearance, more than ten miles away from where his vehicle was recovered.
Authorities conducted extensive searches in 2021 and early 2022, but suspended the effort later that year. The discovery of Sloan’s remains has now provided closure to his family, who have been notified of his death.
The circumstances surrounding Sloan’s death remain unclear. The distance between the trail camera location and his truck, combined with the gap in time before his remains were found, raises questions about what transpired in the months between his disappearance and discovery.