Skeleton found near northern California coast is suspected killer Shane Miller

AP

The remains of Shane Miller, the man suspected of slaying his wife and children in 2013, have been discovered along the northern California coast.

Dental records show the skeletal remains found by an anonymous person on Friday night along the Mattole River is the 45-year-old wanted since last year on murder charges in connection to the death of his wife, Sandy, and children, Shelby, 8, and Shasta, 5, according to the Shasta County Sheriff's Office.

Deputies found the gruesome murders after dispatchers received a 911 call from the Millers' rural home near the Lassen National Forest and heard a woman sobbing in the background before several banging sounds interrupted the cries, according to the Record-Searchlight newspaper.

The tragic killings likely stemmed from a domestic dispute.

The murders were featured in an episode of CNN's 'The Hunt with John Walsh' to seek information on Miller's whereabouts.

In the episode, Sandy Miller and her children reportedly checked into One Safe Place, a women's shelter in Redding, after running away at one point from her violent husband, Mare Deutcher, a client advocate, said.

'She appeared very tired. The girls were very tearful, red-eyed, exhausted. They had a long time getting off the mountain,' Deutcher said.

Sandy Miller told shelter staff her husband had choked her and threatened to kill her and the children.

CNN

The cause of Shane Miller's death has not been officially determined, but according to the Lost Coast Outpost newspaper, detectives reportedly told Janine Johnson, the last person to speak with Miller, he may have committed suicide.

Shasta County detectives were notified about the discovery because the body was found very near to where Miller abandoned his truck and disappeared into the wilderness.

Miller is the second suspect to wind up dead after being featured on 'The Hunt.'

Last week, a tip led the New York Police Department to Charles Mozdir, a suspected sex offender accused in a child molestation case out of California. The confrontation, however, led to the death Mozdir in a West Village shootout with U.S. marshals and NYPD detectives.

nhensley@nydailynews.com