articleThe Brief Human remains found on Alaska's Nunivak Island were identified as George Smith Sr., who disappeared in 2009. Human remains discovered on a remote island in western Alaska have been identified as those of a 79-year-old hunter who disappeared after his snowmachine broke through river ice in 2009, according to the Alaska State Troopers. Dig deeper:Authorities said they were notified July 14 that DNA analysis confirmed the remains, which were found on Nunivak Island in October 2009, belonged to George Smith Sr. Nunivak Island lies in the Bering Sea off Alaska's southwest coast. The backstory:Smith, of the western Alaska village of Togiak, disappeared on April 30, 2009, while hunting with a companion. Investigators said Smith's snowmachine broke through the ice on the Ungalikthluk River near Togiak, a small community about 330 miles southwest of Anchorage.