US remains found off Russia

REMAINS believed to be those of a US airman shot down by the Soviets during the cold war were due to be returned to the US late yesterday.

Capt. John Dunham navigated a reconnaissance plane shot down in 1952 over the Kuril Islands off Russia's Pacific coast. US and Russian investigators searching Yurii Island found the remains Sept. 2 after a tip from a former Soviet sailor who handed in Dunham's class ring, which he said he found at the site.

The remains were to be flown to the US Army Central Identification Laboratory in Hawaii for detailed forensic analysis, a US Embassy statement says. This is the first time remains of the plane's crew members have been found. Some 38 US planes were shot down during the cold war, but not all were downed by the Soviets.