Remains found in Alaska identified as missing French adventurer

ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Human remains found on a remote Alaska island have been identified as those of a missing French adventurer, Alaska State Troopers said.

Francois Guenot vanished in May after embarking on a kayaking trip, Alaska Dispatch News reported. His destination was Perryville, a small community hundreds of miles away from Kokhanok on the Alaska Peninsula.

The remains of the 32-year-old man were found in September on Shuyak Island north of Kodiak. The state medical examiner's office identified the remains using dental records, troopers said Wednesday.

Guenot, from Maiche, France, began appearing last year in southwest Alaska villages. He told people he had walked, canoed and bicycled across Canada and through Alaska, and planned to reach Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula. He was last seen in early May near Kokhanok and friends last heard from him late that month, when he was near Kamishak Bay, on the coast of Katmai National Park and Preserve.

A kayak believed to be Guenot's was found by Katmai park rangers in June, and a waterproof bag was found 3 miles away. The Coast Guard launched a brief search of the area but found no sign of the missing man.

Guenot's father and brother arrived in Alaska in August to press authorities to continue searching. They reasoned that survival items such as a compass, tarp and knife were not among the items found.

A volunteer cleaning up marine debris on the beach at Shuyak Island found the remains, which were wearing a rain jacket, chest waders and gloves.

The island is separated by Shelikof Strait from the area to the northwest, where the kayak and gear were found.