Police identify body found near Eklutna Lake Road as woman missing from Eagle River

ANCHORAGE, Alaska (KTUU) - The Anchorage Police Department has identified the person whose body was found near Eklutna on Saturday as belonging to a woman who was reported missing last week.

In an alert Monday evening, APD confirmed the death of 27-year-old Jerilyn Bessie Nicholson, who was reported missing on Friday.

APD has labeled the death suspicious. Nicholson’s body was found at the base of a cliff near Eklutna Lake Road after police received the report around 4 p.m. Saturday.

A release on Friday seeking help finding Nicholson described her as Alaska Native, 5 feet, 3 inches tall, weighing 103 pounds with brown eyes and brown hair with blonde tips. She was last seen in Eagle River on Saturday, April 24 around 5:30 p.m., according to police, and was last heard from via text at 12:28 p.m. on Sunday, April 25.

In the days after her disappearance, missing persons flyers with photos of Nicholson were posted on windows and buildings around Eagle River and shared on social media.

According to a release from APD, Nicholson was taken to the medical examiner for identification and determination of her cause of death. Anchorage police have completed notifying Nicholson’s family, they wrote in the Monday release.

Anyone with information about Nicholson’s disappearance or death, including possible video, is asked to contact police at 311.

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