Story highlights Clothing and what appear to be human remains have been found in Kenai, Alaska, police say

Items along a wooded trail may be from a family that went missing in May 2014

(CNN) The disappearance of a young woman, her two children and her boyfriend confounded police last year. Now, remains found in southern Alaska likely show their tragic fate.

"As much as we would have liked to [have] closed this story earlier, we're glad that they were found," Kenai Police Department Lt. David Ross told reporters Monday.

He said authorities are still working to identify the remains, but that all signs point to them belonging to the missing family.

A police officer walks to a temporary camp where officials are working to identify remains of what Kenai police think are a family missing since May.

Rebecca Adams, 23; Michelle Hundley, 6; Jaracca Hundley, 3; and Rebecca's boyfriend, Brandon Jividen, 38, disappeared in May. The family's dog, Sparks, also went missing.

"It appears that, from what we can tell, there are four people in the human remains. There is clothing consistent with what we know to be missing from the residence. There is the remains of a dog that is consistent in size with the dog that is missing," Ross said.

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