Old plane wreck in Alaska still a mystery

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ANCHORAGE, Alaska, June 17 (UPI) -- The U.S. military has asked pilots to stay away from an area of an Alaskan glacier where evidence of a long-ago plane crash was found.

A National Guard helicopter on patrol last week spotted the debris and what might be the skeletal remains of the victims scattered along Knik Glacier east of Anchorage.

Investigators believe the wreckage is from a vintage military aircraft, one of scores of planes that have vanished in the wilderness over the years. But identifying the wreckage will require military experts to take a closer look later this week. "I think the biggest thing is we're just not there yet," said Michelle Thomas, spokeswoman for the Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in Action Accounting Command in Hawaii. "Just based on their pictures, we won't know until we get there."

Thomas told the Anchorage (Alaska) Daily News they were not publicizing the location of the crash or any details of the wreckage in order to spare family members any false hope their loved ones had finally been located.

The newspaper said at least a dozen planes are known to be missing around Knik Glacier.