A missing 18-year-old woman was found killed two years after she vanished in Alaska, troopers said.
Ataja Banks’ body was discovered Sept. 4 in the area of Moose Meadows Road in Wasilla, Alaska State Troopers said in a Sept. 23 release.
Her remains were identified, and authorities said they believe she was killed.
The Anchorage woman was last in contact with her family mid-September in 2023, the Anchorage Police Department said in a 2024 Facebook post.
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She was then reported missing in October 2023.
At the time, it wasn’t known where she was staying, but she was last known to be in Mat-Su Valley, police and troopers said.
Troopers said the Alaska Bureau of Investigation is “continuing its investigation into Ataja’s murder.”
Wasilla is in Mat-Su Valley, about a 45-mile drive northeast from Anchorage.
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