Female Hitchhiker Remains Found Near Somerset
Dec 27, 2007 9:23 pm US/Eastern Female Hitchhiker Remains Found Near Somerset SOMERSET (KDKA) ― State Police in Somerset County are trying to gather clues after the skeletal remains of a woman were found on Wednesday. The woman, described as a traveler between 25-50 years old, is believed to have spent time in Raleigh, North Carolina. Her remains were found in an industrial park near Somerset. Investigators think she may have died in late spring or early summer of this year. The woman, described as a white female, was wearing black denim jeans, black jacket, white shirt and had brown hair. While police believe it's a long shot, they're hoping anyone who might have seen the woman will call them. State Police have contacted authorities in Raleigh, but so far, no leads have turned up about the woman's identity. It's not clear how the woman died. http://kdka.com/local/Somerset.Hitchhiker.remains.2.619091.html?detectflash=false

Police: Remains probably not those of missing Jefferson County woman By VICKI ROCK Daily American Staff Writer Tuesday, January 8, 2008 12:42 AM EST While the state police have not ruled out the possibility that a skeleton found in the Somerset Industrial Park is a missing Jefferson County woman, it does not appear to be her, Sgt. Roger Pivirotto, station commander, said on Monday. Joey Lynn Offutt, 33, Sykesville, Jefferson County, has been missing since her house burned down on July 12. Her 6-week-old son died in the fire. She has two other children who were not at home when the fire occurred. Her car was found shortly after that in State College. The skeleton found on Dec. 26 about 50 yards from Industrial Park Road is that of a petite white woman between the ages of 30 and 40, state police said. “We haven’t ruled her out, but it doesn’t appear to be her,” Pivirotto said. “There are several other individuals it could be.” Jason Hungerford, Offutt’s nephew, said the family continues to hold out hope that she will be found alive and returned home. “Her entire family misses her dearly and her children need their mother,” Hungerford said in an e-mail. “We urge anyone with any information to please contact us at findjoey.org or to contact the Pennsylvania State Police.” A team from the Applied Forensic Sciences Department at Mercyhurst College in Erie returned to the site on Monday. Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat, department director, came to Somerset when the remains were found. He told the state police that they would return when the weather turned warmer to see if they could find more remains after the snow melted, Pivirotto said. Somerset County Coroner Wallace Miller said earlier that it will be difficult if not impossible to determine a cause of death of the person found in the woods. Evidence found at the scene suggests the woman may have spent time in Raleigh, N.C. She had several cards from a bank and a supermarket that led them to believe she lived there, Pivirotto said. State police are attempting to determine who owns those cards. If they have leads on a missing person, the state police can then have comparisons made of dental records. DNA samples from personal hygiene items used by that individual or from family members could also be obtained for comparison. “We need to have an idea who the person is to identify her,” he said. “We may be able to identify the woman in the near future, or it may be weeks. Hopefully, those cards will lead somewhere and we can do the identification.” Thomasi McDonald, a police reporter with The News & Observer newspaper in Raleigh, said he couldn’t recall a missing woman from there who fits the description of the remains found here. But state police in Somerset have contacted police in Raleigh and in Wake County, N.C., he said. (Vicki Rock can be reached at vickir@dailyamerican.com.) http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2008/01/08/news/news388.txt

Police: Foul play not suspected in woman’s death By VICKI ROCK Daily American Staff Writer Tuesday, January 15, 2008 12:29 AM EST It now appears that there was no foul play in the death of a woman whose decomposed body was found in the woods at the Somerset Industrial Park, Pennsylvania State Police Sgt. Roger Pivirotto, station commander, said on Monday. “That is said with the caveat that if it is who we think it is,” he said. “It’s odd how it all occurred.” The state police have an idea who the woman was, but they don’t want to release her name until it is confirmed, he said. While at first police said they thought the woman was murdered and that her body was dumped at the industrial park, they now say she could have been left out of a car on the Pennsylvania Turnpike sometime this past summer and walked to where she died. Dental records and DNA analysis are being used to positively identify the woman who was found on Dec. 26 by someone walking through the forest. Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat, director of the Applied Forensic Sciences Department at Mercyhurst College in Erie, brought in a team to recover the remains. Dirkmaat is working with the FBI laboratory in doing the forensic analysis to try to determine a cause of death in addition to confirming the woman’s identity, Pivirotto said. (Vicki Rock can be reached at vickir@dailyamerican.com.) http://www.dailyamerican.com/articles/2008/01/14/news/news323.txt

Police might know identity of skeleton; order DNA tests Published: Jan 16, 2008 12:14 AM EST SOMERSET, Pa. (AP) - State police in Somerset County believe they know the identity of a woman whose skeletal remains were found near an industrial park last month. But police say they will use DNA tests to confirm her identity. Trooper Mark Galli says a supermarket discount card found in a bag beside the body was used to identify the woman. The card owner lived outside Pennsylvania and has been reported missing. Galli says she had a specific broken bone that matched the one found on the body. Galli says the woman's identity might never be released at her family's request. Galli says foul play is not suspected. The remains were found Dec. 26 near Somerset Industrial Park. Authorities believe the body had been there for about six months. http://ap.lancasteronline.com/4/pa_skeletal_remains_found