Stevens County Man Identified After Remains Found in Remote Idaho

Human remains discovered in a remote Idaho drainage area earlier this year have been identified as Allan Sloan, a 29-year-old Stevens County native and U.S. Army veteran, who went missing during a harsh winter storm in late 2021. The Nez Perce County Sheriff ’s Office in Idaho confirmed the identification following an analysis by the Spokane County Medical Examiner’s Office, which used historical medical imaging to confirm a match.

According to family members, Sloan was homeschooled and spent his early childhood growing up in Northport on the Little Dalles orchard, which his family owned and operated from 1990 to 2000. Sloan later served as an Army military police officer stationed in Hawaii. After leaving the military in 2016, family said Sloan moved to Caldwell, Idaho, and later spent time in Colville before traveling into the remote Idaho backcountry where he went missing.

While the official cause of death cannot be determined due to the amount of time that has elapsed, authorities said they suspect Sloan died of exposure after getting stranded during a sudden onset of severe weather. “That winter was really bad,” Nez Perce County Sheriff ’s Lt. Patrick Dupea told the press. “It came in real fast.”

Sloan was last seen on Dec. 7, 2021, near the Wapshilla Ridge area south of Waha, approximately 18 miles south of Lewiston, Idaho. Less than a week after family members reported him missing, searchers located his pickup truck stuck in deep snow several miles away. In the spring of 2022, Idaho Department of Fish and Game officials said personnel reviewed area trail camera footage and found images of Sloan walking more than 10 miles from where his vehicle was stranded.

Investigators believe Sloan left his truck on foot in an effort to find his way back before succumbing to freezing weather. Officials said deep snow and continued severe weather obstructed initial multi-agency search efforts, leading authorities to suspend active grid searches later that year. The case saw a breakthrough on March 28 when a shed hunter and members of Sloan’s family discovered human remains in the Swamp Creek area near Waha.

Nez Perce County Sheriff ’s deputies, Search and Rescue personnel, and K-9 units subsequently searched the area to recover additional remains. His father, Greg Sloan, told the Statesman-Examiner that “it has been a long time and it is good to have closure and be able to bring him home.” The family plans to hold a memorial service in the fall.