UPDATE: Aloft Drone Search has released information following the discovery of Brunelle's remains. According to Aloft, they were contacted by Andy Brunelle in March of this year. The remains were located on April 7th after combing through drone images provided by Terravata. Brunelle's remains were located just 2 miles away from her car and .8 miles away from where her clothes were discovered.
According to Malheur County Undersheriff David Kesey, there is currently no identified cause of death listed for Brunelle. Authorities also believe there are no signs of foul play at this time.
Remains of a missing Boise woman, Gwen Brunelle, have been found in Malheur County, Oregon according to the missing woman's family and the search company they hired.
A news release from Aloft Drone Search, says the company was contacted by Gwen's family to help find her. Aloft Drone Search analyzed thousands of images taken by a drone company based in Homedale, Idaho.
After about a month, Aloft Drone search says they spotted what they believed to be human remains, and contacted the Malheur County Sheriff's Office.
Related: Search resumed in the case of missing Boise woman Gwen Brunelle
According to Aloft Drone Search, the Malheur County Sheriff's Office confirmed what was seen in the imagery were human remains.
Idaho News 6 contacted Brunelle's uncle, who confirmed the family posts updates online on a website dedicated to the search. The site includes many updates since Brunelle was initially reported missing in June 2023.
According to the website, the found remains were found in the Succor Creek area, a few miles west of Highway 95. The remains were then sent to the Oregon State Medical Examiner.
On April 30, the family says the County Undersheriff notified them that the remains were identified as Gwen Brunelle.
On the site, Brunelle's family offers their thanks to the many people who aided their search.
"We are very thankful for the volunteers at Aloft Drone Search for their hours of poring over photographs that helped lead to a result. So too the work of Terrevata for the aerial photography. And especially the devoted volunteers at Mountain States Detection Dogs for their tireless efforts, and for finding the first clue – Gwen’s t-shirt – last September that helped establish where to focus search efforts. Finally, the Malheur County Sheriff's office, who responded quickly and acted on information when we found it."
In an updated statement, Brunelle's family also included the following addition:
"There were periods of time in Gwen’s life when she encountered mental health issues. We feel she suffered from an undiagnosed psychotic illness. We believe these factors may have created a state of anxiety and confusion in her final days and ultimately contributed to her passing."
