Man Found With Ashley Johnson-Barr's Phone Charged In Missing Alaska Girl's Case

A 41-year-old Alaska man was charged Monday in connection with the death of missing 10-year-old girl, Ashley Johnson-Barr, after he was found with her mobile phone.

The authorities reached Peter Wilson of Kotzebue, Alaska, after they tracked the GPS coordinates of the phone which led to them to the girl’s body as well.

Johnson-Barr, who was missing since Sept. 6, was found dead Friday just east of Kotzebue. Wilson was arrested on the same day after he was caught giving false statements to the federal officers.

On Tuesday, Wilson will make his first court appearance in U.S. District Court in Anchorage. It is not known whether there is an attorney to represent Wilson.

According to an affidavit filed by FBI Special Agent Michael Watson, the death of the girl was thought to be a homicide, but the incident is still under investigation. Chloe Martin, U.S. Department of Justice spokeswoman, said further charges might be added depending on the evidence developed during the investigation.

Johnson-Barr was last seen playing with her friends at Rainbow Park in Kotzebue on Sept.6, the affidavit said. Her phone was with her at the time. Her parents called her multiple times, but no one answered the phone. A search for the girl ​followed, which included 17 FBI agents. Finally, a breakthrough happened when the phone was retrieved.

A woman, identified as JJ in the affidavit, found the phone inside a jacket that belonged to Wilson, who occasionally stayed with her.

Late on Sept. 6, she heard a phone ringing repeatedly and found it the jacket. "When she picked up the phone and tried to unlock it, she said Ashley's name displayed on the screen," the affidavit said.

JJ knew the family of the girl and called the parents who informed her that Johnson-Barr was missing. The mobile phone was retrieved by the missing girl’s father, who later passed it on to the police.

The affidavit said Wilson told the father and the police that he found the phone half a mile away from the park from where the girl went missing. The parents of the missing girl told investigators that Wilson and their daughter were acquaintances and that he had been to their homes multiple times.

JJ also told investigators that Wilson was out with his four-wheeler for two hours on the day the girl went missing.

Forensic analysis of the girl’s phone supported JJ’s claim that the girl's name appeared on the screen whenever a call came in. Through geolocation, the phone’s service provider determined the locations where the phone was taken to. They found the phone was near Rainbow Park, where Wilson apparently found the device at, and also 2 miles east of downtown Kotzebue, where the police finally found the body of the girl Friday.

According to the affidavit, the girl’s body "was located one-quarter mile off the road on the tundra in an area that could only be accessed by four-wheeler or on foot. … This was an area that was concealed by thick alder and willow brush and a depression in the ground."

Authorities charged Wilson based on the many false statements he made to the Federal agents, including that he didn’t use a four-wheeler any time on Sept. 6, denying familiarity with the girl, claiming the phone’s screen did not lit up with her name when it rang and that he found the phone half a mile from the park.

Kotzebue Mayor Gayle Ralston said his wife was in touch with the family of the missing girl.

"They're doing as good as could be expected," he said adding, they found a small measure of relief and closure that her body was found.