Authorities searching for a woman who went missing while attempting to cross the international border from Vermont into Québec in January discovered human remains, police said.

A Vermont State Police search and rescue team found the remains in a remote region of northern Vermont near Jay, in Orleans County, police said on Thursday. Authorities have not yet positively identified the person. An autopsy is being conducted to determine the cause and manner of death.

U.S. Border Patrol received a tip about the missing migrant woman in January. According to Vermont State Police, the woman was reported to have been separated from a group that was headed north. No details about her group or where they were from were disclosed.

“When we initially received comment, it was so vague we really didn’t have anything to go on,” said Ryan Brissette, a spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection. 

U.S. Border Patrol received additional information in October, Brissette said, which led agents to search a specific area near Jay.

“Once we found what we believed to be belongings of the missing person, we realized it might be more than a report,” Brissette said. Border Patrol then turned the investigation over to Vermont State Police, who took over on October 20.

Brissette asked that further questions about Border Patrol’s search efforts be sent in writing. Seven Days did not receive a response before publication.

News reporter Lucy Tompkins covers immigration, new Americans and the international border for Seven Days. She is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms. Tompkins is a University of…
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