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Frozen remains of World War II airman identified

Mustonen crashed in Nevada mountains

Minneapolis: The frozen remains found in the California mountains last fall are those of an airman from Minnesota whose plane went missing during World War II, relatives said.

The U.S. Department of Defence determined the remains are those of Leo Mustonen, who was 22 when the plane he was in crashed 64 years ago in the Sierra Nevada mountains, the airman's nieces Leane Mustonen Ross and Ona Lea Mustonen told CNN on Saturday.

Marjorie Freeman, a family friend, told The Associated Press that she spoke with the airman's relatives after they were notified by defence officials earlier this week.

Last October, authorities recovered a well-preserved body encased in ice in Kings Canyon National Park.

Military anthropologists narrowed their options to four men who flew out of Sacramento's Mather Field the night the plane disappeared.

Leo Mustonen joined the war effort in 1942.

He was on an AT-7 navigational training plane when it vanished after leaving on a routine flight on November 18 that year. Five years later, after an engine, scattered remains and clothing were found far from the plane's intended course, the cadets and the pilot were given a ceremonial burial.

AP

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