Update, 7 a.m. Friday: Two boys missing since they were last seen at Muldoon Park Wednesday night have been found, Anchorage police said Thursday evening.
There were no early-morning police updates Friday in the search for 28-year-old Juan Toscano.
Original story:
A search was continuing Thursday for a man reported missing in the area of a popular trailhead on the Anchorage Hillside.
It was not immediately clear if 28-year-old Juan Toscano’s disappearance was connected to a homicide investigation in the same area, police said Thursday. A body was found along the road past the Campbell Airstrip Trailhead Wednesday morning. Police had released few details about the circumstances surrounding the death.
“While it is currently unknown if the two cases are connected or not, both occurred in the same area,” police said in an update Thursday. “The deceased person and the missing person are two separate people.”
Police said they were looking for information from anyone who saw anything suspicious in the Campbell Airstrip Road area between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday.
Family and friends last heard from Toscano around 3 p.m. Tuesday, when he told them he was going for a hike at the Basher Drive trailhead, police wrote in an alert. His last known location was possibly around the Campbell Creek Gorge, police said.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/adn/7LNR2KGTQJHLFF273AUJARFAD4.jpeg)
Toscano was reported missing just after 1 p.m. Wednesday when he hadn’t returned from the hike. His vehicle was located at the trailhead, said police spokeswoman Renee Oistad.
Toscano is 5-foot-9 and 195 pounds with brown hair and blue eyes, according to police.
Officers searched the area with rescue crews Wednesday night, using drones and all-terrain vehicles. Specially trained search and rescue dogs made their way along the trail, which connects to Near Point and the Wolverine Peak trail.
A search and rescue team was working the case Thursday, Oistad said.
Police asked anyone who has noticed suspicious activity on or near Campbell Airstrip Road between 6 p.m. Tuesday and 6 a.m. Wednesday to contact Detective Kristi Mercer at 907-786-2653.
Anchorage police were also searching Thursday for two boys last seen at Muldoon Park. Oistad said 11-year-old Bryson Azzarella and 12-year-old Aiden Alexie are most likely together. They were last seen at the park around 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and reported missing Thursday, police said.
The boys were both described as 4-foot-11 and 90 pounds. Azzarella was wearing a black jacket and pants with a dark green backpack. Alexie was wearing a black sweatshirt, dark camouflage pants and blue or gray shoes.