Federal agents say human remains have been found on the Blackfeet Indian reservation in Northwestern Montana where a woman was reported missing last year.
FBI spokesperson Sandra Barker said Friday the remains have not been identified and that it's preliminary to make any connection to the case of Ashley Loring Heavyrunner, who disappeared in June 2017 at age 20.
“The FBI is leading the investigation, coupled with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Blackfeet law enforcement, and the sheriff’s office," said Tom Seifert, the captain at the Glacier County sheriff’s office.
An FBI evidence response team is working to recover the remains and process the location where they were found Thursday.
Barker says no additional information is being released at this time.
The discovery Thursday was a day after Loring's sister testified before a U.S. Senate committee that she was frustrated over what she believed to be disinterest by tribal and federal authorities over Ashley's disappearance.