Law enforcement in Teton County are asking for the public’s help to identify human remains that were recently found north of Palisades reservoir. According to the Jackson Hole News & Guide, the remains were found Sunday, September 13 by two bow hunters tracking a wounded elk in a remote area along the Idaho/Wyoming border. The remains were located near Starvation Peak and Mosquito Creek in the Palisades Wilderness Study Area.

Teton County deputies responded to the area and recovered about 90 percent of the skeleton from thick grass, shrubs and underbrush in a shallow basin. According to Sgt. John Faicco, there is no suspicion of foul play. “The biggest thing right now is trying to identify this person,” Faicoo told the News & Guide.

Teton County Deputy Coroner Russell Nelson, a forensic anthropologist, said the remains belonged to a stocky man who stood about 5 feet, 8 inches tall and was approximately 45 to 65 years old. It appears that the man had been deceased for 3-4 years and the cause of death remains undetermined. “There’s no obvious trauma. Somehow this guy winds up in this location with that tool and literally nothing else. It’s one of those puzzles,” stated Teton County Deputy Coroner Russell Nelson.

The man was wearing Wrangler blue jeans, a Wrangler flannel shirt, a cotton underlayer and a fleece-lined jacket. A hatchet was found near the bones and an Old Timer knife was found in his pocket along with a black plastic comb and a few coins, the newest of which was dated 2015. He also wore socks and steel-toed boots.

Nelson said the man had several healed injuries, including damage to his nose, several previously broken ribs on his right side and a shattered bone in his right foot that had healed and had undergone a significant lower-back surgery. Investigators hope the medical hardware can be traced to a hospital, surgeon or patient record. Dental records could provide another path toward identifying him, said Nelson. The man had metal fillings, bridgework and a partial denture.

SVI Media contacted the Teton County Sheriff’s Office to inquire if any identification had been made, but no response was given by the press deadline.

The Sheriff’s Office is asking anyone who recognizes the description or knows of a man who disappeared from the region within the past several years to contact the agency through its nonemergency number at 307-733-2331.