On a completely different train of thought,,, I was just having a talk with a friend about carrion either buried or exposed and he mentioned that even a little bit of remnant carrion will cause the snow on top to be more granule like. Many animals feed thru winter on snow buried carrion and even carrion buried in earth and then further snow covered by larger omnivores. Trained eyes can spot these subtle nuances in snow cover some may overlook. Being that we get that super fine dusty snow from hereon in till March, spotting warm spots where a grave might be is possible. When I fish in Summer, I take note of weed beds, as, in winter those weed beds rot and cause thinner ice at those parts of the lake. So all is not lost in finding remains.
Sorry I can't produce a link on such learned things, but there you have it.