Family members have identified the person found dead in the Southeast community of Kake Tuesday night as a 13-year-old girl, Mackenzie H. Howard of Kake.

Alaska State Troopers say Howard was found by a member of the community in the arctic entryway of the Memorial Presbyterian Church.

Troopers are expected to remain in the community Thursday interviewing residents and processing what they’re calling a crime scene. However troopers have not classified the death as anything other than a death investigation.

Howard’s body is being sent to Anchorage for an autopsy to determine the cause and manner of her death.

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