Arnoldine Hill: The Unsolved Murder of a 26-Year-Old Woman Found Along Alaska’s Parks Highway

A Body by the Highway, a Missing Timeline, and a Case Still Without an Answer

On a cold January day in 2021, a discovery along one of Alaska’s major highways opened a homicide investigation that remains unsolved years later.

Arnoldine Simone Hill, a 26-year-old Alaska Native woman from Hooper Bay, was found dead near Mile 81 of the Parks Highway, north of Willow, Alaska. Investigators determined that her death was a homicide, but the circumstances surrounding her final days—and the identity of whoever killed her—have remained largely unanswered.

Today, Hill’s name remains on Alaska’s official list of unresolved homicides. The Alaska Department of Public Safety lists her case under the date January 9, 2021, with case number AK21002791 and location listed as Willow.

Her case has also become part of a larger conversation in Alaska about how unsolved killings are tracked, investigated and remembered.

The Last Known Sighting

According to Alaska State Troopers, Hill was last known to be alive on December 10, 2020, in Midtown Anchorage.

After that date, investigators could not establish a complete public timeline of her movements. Authorities said she may have been in Anchorage, Wasilla or Willow before her death and appealed to the public for information about where she had gone and who she may have interacted with.

That missing stretch of time became one of the most important pieces of the investigation.

More than a month passed between the last confirmed sighting of Hill and the discovery of her remains.

Investigators ultimately needed answers to basic but crucial questions:

Where had Hill been after December 10?

Who had contact with her?

How did she travel from the Anchorage area toward the Parks Highway?

And who was responsible for her death?

The Discovery Near Mile 81

On January 9, 2021, Alaska State Troopers received a report about a body along the Parks Highway north of Willow.

The remains were initially unidentified. Investigators determined that the victim was an adult woman and began working to establish her identity and the circumstances of her death.

The remains were later positively identified as Arnoldine Simone Hill of Hooper Bay.

An autopsy subsequently confirmed that Hill had been the victim of a homicide. Authorities, however, did not publicly release details about exactly how she died or where they believed the killing occurred. Troopers said they were withholding certain information so they would not compromise the investigation.

Investigators believed Hill had already been dead for several days before her body was left near the highway.

Authorities said her body was placed near Mile 81 sometime between the evening of January 8 and the afternoon of January 9, when someone reported finding her.

That detail raised another important question: Was the location where Hill was found the same place where she was killed?

Troopers did not publicly say that it was.

Police Asked the Public to Look Back

Investigators quickly turned to the public.

Troopers asked anyone who had seen Hill, interacted with her, traveled with her or knew about her movements after December 10 to come forward.

They were particularly interested in information concerning activity around Mile 81 of the Parks Highway and anyone who may have had contact with Hill during the weeks before her body was discovered.

At the time, Alaska Department of Public Safety communications director Megan Peters emphasized that investigators wanted people to understand that Hill’s death was being taken seriously.

Authorities also received assistance from federal authorities during the investigation.

But despite the public appeal, the case did not quickly produce an arrest.

A Case That Went Cold

By January 2024, Alaska State Troopers were publicly describing Hill’s homicide as a cold case and again asking the public for help.

A report published that month said investigators were still seeking information that could help solve the murder of the 26-year-old woman found near Mile 81 of the Parks Highway.

Mat-Su Crime Stoppers also lists Hill’s case as open and asks anyone with information to come forward. The organization says a reward of up to $10,000 is available for information leading to the arrest or indictment of Hill’s killer.

The continued absence of an arrest means that many of the most important questions surrounding Hill’s death remain unanswered.

Why Hill’s Case Became Part of a Bigger Debate

Hill’s homicide drew renewed attention in 2025 when Alaska State Troopers published an updated list of unresolved homicide cases.

Advocates noticed that Hill’s name had apparently been removed from the list, despite the case remaining unsolved.

That sparked criticism from victim advocates, who questioned why an unresolved homicide would disappear from an official cold-case list.

The issue was not simply about a name appearing on a webpage.

Advocates argued that keeping unsolved murders visible can help maintain public awareness, encourage tips and ensure that families do not feel that their loved one’s case has been forgotten.

Arnoldine Hill became one of the examples cited in that criticism.

The List Was Later Updated

Following community feedback, Alaska State Troopers updated the cold-case list and restored many of the cases that had previously been removed.

According to Alaska Public Media and KNBA reporting, the number of cases on the list increased from 96 to 116 after the update. Hill’s case was included.

The Alaska Department of Public Safety’s current unresolved-homicide page lists:

Hill, Arnoldine — January 9, 2021 — Willow — AK21002791.

The department explains that its Cold Case Investigative Unit investigates unresolved homicides that meet its criteria, while a separate Missing and Murdered Indigenous Persons unit focuses on unresolved homicides and suspicious missing-person cases involving Alaska Native or American Indian victims.

Arnoldine Hill Was More Than a Case Number

Hill was an Alaska Native woman from Hooper Bay.

When authorities initially appealed for information, they released identifying details including that she was approximately 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighed about 150 pounds. She had shoulder-length dark brown hair and a distinctive mole below her lower right lip.

Those details were intended to help members of the public recognize her and, more importantly, remember that someone may have seen her during the period when investigators were trying to reconstruct her final movements.

Behind the case number is a young woman whose family and community have been left without the most basic answers surrounding her death.

The Questions That Remain

Years after Arnoldine Hill was found along the Parks Highway, the central questions remain.

Who was Hill with after December 10, 2020?

Where was she during the weeks before her death?

Who transported her to the area near Mile 81?

Was she killed somewhere else and later left beside the highway?

Who knows what happened but has never come forward?

And perhaps the most important question:

Who killed Arnoldine Hill?

Authorities have not publicly identified a suspect or announced an arrest in connection with her death.

That does not necessarily mean investigators have stopped working the case. Alaska State Troopers continue to classify Hill’s death as an unresolved homicide, and her case remains part of the state’s cold-case system.

A Case That Still Needs a Witness

Cold cases often survive because investigators are waiting for something that may seem small: a forgotten conversation, an old photograph, a vehicle someone remembers seeing, a person who suddenly decides to talk, or information that was overlooked years earlier.

In Hill’s case, investigators have specifically sought information about her movements and contacts between December 10 and January 9, as well as suspicious activity around the location where her body was found.

Someone may know something.

Someone may remember seeing Arnoldine.

Someone may know who was with her during those missing weeks.

And somewhere in those unanswered details could be the information investigators need to finally identify her killer.

How to Report Information

Anyone with information about Arnoldine Simone Hill’s death or her whereabouts and contacts during the relevant period can contact the Alaska State Troopers at 907-352-5401.

Mat-Su Crime Stoppers also lists the case as open and accepts tips, including anonymous information.

For Hill’s family and everyone who has continued to raise awareness of her case, the hope remains the same: that the silence surrounding her final days will eventually be broken.

Arnoldine Hill was 26 years old when her life was taken. More than five years later, her homicide remains unsolved.

Her name is still on the list.

And her case is still waiting for an answer.