The Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the discovery of human remains pulled from the St. Joe River near Wallace, Idaho, with officials saying the remains could belong to a 24-year-old woman who vanished last December.
According to Sheriff Shawn Wehr, Patrol Sgt. Darius Dustin was contacted around 12:30 p.m. on Sunday, July 5, by a kayaker who reported seeing what looked like human remains in the river near mile marker 23 on St. Joe River Road. The kayaker had initially assumed the remains belonged to an animal, but paddled closer for a better look and realized they appeared to be human before calling authorities.
Dustin responded to the scene and located skeletal remains in a shallow lagoon area of the river, several miles downstream from the community of Calder. After confirming the remains were human, Dustin notified Sheriff Wehr and Shoshone County Coroner Rick Smith, who assisted with recovery efforts.
The remains were later sent to the Spokane Medical Examiner’s Office, where forensic testing will be used in an attempt to determine identity.
Case may connect to a woman missing since December
Wehr said investigators suspect the remains could belong to Chantel Williams, who was reported missing on December 13, 2025. Williams was last seen in the Marble Creek area of the St. Joe River region during a period when the river was swollen and moving fast due to severe flooding that had recently struck the area.
Silver Valley Search and Rescue took part in the initial search effort after Williams disappeared. Authorities have said she was reportedly experiencing a mental health crisis at the time she went missing, and police records indicate witnesses reported seeing her enter the water upstream from where the remains were later found.
Wehr said his office has already spoken with Williams’ family to inform them that remains had been recovered, though no identification has been confirmed. He said the sheriff’s office is now waiting on results from the medical examiner in Spokane.
“We’re awaiting the results from the Spokane Medical Examiner, who will call and communicate their office’s findings with our coroner,” Wehr said, adding that identification could take some time to complete.
He said he hopes the process brings some resolution to the family regardless of the outcome. “No matter what the results are, we hope that by identifying the remains we can provide this person’s family with some closure,” Wehr said.
Officials expect to receive findings from the medical examiner’s office in the coming days, and say they will release further information once the identification process is complete. The investigation into the circumstances remains ongoing.
