Army Capt. Jamie Dobson stated that evidence collected at the crash site is consistent with the missing C-124A Globemaster, but the military is not ruling out alternative possibilities because more investigation is needed.

"We're still at the very beginning of this investigation," she said. "This is very close to the starting line, not the finish line."

Dobson estimates that processing DNA samples from relatives of those on board the plane might take up to six years.

The wreckage and possible bones were discovered on Colony Glacier, roughly 40 miles east of Anchorage, by the Alaska National Guard on June 10. The wreckage was discovered soon after the heavy transport plane with 41 passengers and 11 crew members vanished on Nov. 22, 1952. But it was buried in snow and possibly churned beneath the surface of the glacier for decades, according to Dobson.