Autopsy confirms identity of body

FARMINGTON — An autopsy has confirmed that the woman found dead in northern Arizona on Feb. 21 is 27year-old Farmington resident Sasha Marie Krause. Investigators say she was kidnapped and murdered.

The San Juan County and Coconino County sheriff ’s offices, along with federal authorities, have transitioned the investigation into a kidnapping and murder case as they work to identify and apprehend the individual responsible for the crimes, according to San Juan County Sheriff Shane Ferrari.

Ferrari announced on the morning of Feb. 25 in a Facebook video that the remains of a woman found north of Flagstaff were Krause after an autopsy was performed on Feb. 24.

A Coconino County Sheriff’s Office press release issued on Feb. 25 stated fingerprints collected at the scene were matched with the Texas Motor Vehicle Department’s driver’s license records to confirm her identity around 8 p.m. on Feb. 24.

The Coconino County Sheriff ’s Office in Arizona released information on Feb. 24 that a woman matching the general description of Krause was found on Feb. 21 in the area between Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument, north of Flagstaff.

Her body was transported to the Medical Examiner’s office in Flagstaff on the night of Feb. 21.

Krause had been missing since the night of Jan. 18.

San Juan County deputies were dispatched in the early hours of Jan. 19 to the Lamp & Light Publishers on County Road 5577 in the Crouch Mesa area on reports of a missing woman.

The Coconino County Sheriff ’s Office is requesting anyone with information on the incident contact Detective Jones at 928-226-5038 or the Silent Witness line at 928-774-6111.