Troopers ask public for help with investigation into homicide of Hooper Bay woman found along Parks Highway

Arnoldine Simone Hill, the 26-year-old Hooper Bay woman whose body was found along the Parks Highway north of Willow last weekend, may have been in Anchorage, Wasilla or Willow before she died, Alaska State Troopers say.

Hill was “last known to be alive” on Dec. 10 in Midtown Anchorage, troopers said in an update posted Friday. Investigators are asking anyone with information about her location after that date, or people she may have interacted with, to report the information at 907-352-5401.

Hill, an Alaska Native woman, was 4 feet 11 inches tall and about 150 pounds, with shoulder-length brown hair and a distinct mole below her lower right lip.

An autopsy has confirmed that Hill died by homicide, troopers said. No additional information was available.

Hill’s mother was killed at her home in Hooper Bay in 1999, a relative said. Nancy Ann Hill had graduated as valedictorian of her senior class 10 years earlier. The person arrested in her death was someone she knew. The man was imprisoned after pleading no contest to second-degree murder, state court records show.

Hill was 4 years old when it happened, according to her aunt, Marlene Hill.

Hooper Bay is one of the larger communities in the Yukon-Kuskokwim region, with about 1,300 residents.

Hill left there last year, according to Marlene Hill, who described her niece as loving, someone who liked to bake and had a good sense of humor.

“She’d make us laugh when we were feeling down,” Hill said in a message.

Arnoldine Hill was in Anchorage the last time her aunt spoke with her. That was some time last month, said Marlene Hill, who lives in Hooper Bay. Her niece sounded like she was doing OK.

She was homeless by choice, Hill said.

“She didn’t like staying put in one place,” she wrote.