By Cary Rosenbaum
The Chronicle

     WINTHROP - DNA evidence has confirmed that the remains found last month in the Pasayten Wilderness are Melissa M. Kerrigan.
     Kerrigan, 27, of Freeland, went missing in September 2011 after leaving a suicide note hat her home. The U.S. Forest Service subsequently discovered her vehicle Sept. 29, 2011, at the Billy Goat Trailhead in the Pasayten.
     Okanogan County Sheriff’s Office authorities speculated the remains were of Kerrigan after two hunters found bones and other items about 6 miles from the trailhead.
     “Pretty much everything we found at the scene (told us it was her),” Sheriff Frank Rogers said. “We found identification. The odds of it not being her were slim.”
     Rogers received the news Saturday from Chief Deputy Dave Rodriguez.
     “We considered the case closed, but it stays on the edge until we know someone says, ‘100 percent, we know it’s her,’” he said.
     The remains will be released to the family.