Skeletal remains discovered near Mount Elden identified as missing Phoenix man

The Coconino County Sheriff's Office has identified skeletal remains discovered by a hiker in 2019.

The remains were found in a heavily wooded area at the base of Mount Elden and were identified as Mark Austin Dunne, who was reported missing in Phoenix in 2017.

The sheriff's office signed a contract with Intermountain Forensics of Salt Lake City in 2023 after initial identification efforts failed.

A DNA profile showed Dunne as a potential match, and additional testing was conducted by the University of North Texas, confirming the match to Dunne's family members.

Dunne was reported missing to the Phoenix Police Department in March 2017 after not contacting his family for an extended period of time. Investigators say it appears Dunne had been camping in the Flagstaff area for an extended period of time and his cause of death could not be determined.