12/30/05 Human Skeleton Found Near Buffalo Springs Lake Lubbock authorities are processing human remains found today near the rugged terrain by Buffalo Springs Lake. Nearly 24 hours ago, investigators found a human skull just feet away from today's skeletal remains. Crime scene tape marks the site on county road 835, just east of the Lake's entrance. Friday, K-9 units from Amarillo, Texas Rangers, the DA's office, and Lubbock Sheriff's combed the area for clues, and their efforts have been successful. The discovery of a human skull lead investigators to this area, where nearly 20 hours later, they found what could be the rest of the skeleton. "The body was found in proximity to where the skull had been discovered," said Sheriff David Gutierrez. A canine cadaver unit, along with Texas Rangers, the DA's office, and Lubbock County Sheriff's started a line search, and that's when they saw the remains. "The remains were covered under natural brush/ debris. We also know natural elements may have taken a toll on the victim," said Sheriff Gutierrez. The Sheriff's Department say early evidence shows that the area where the body was dropped, may not necessarily be the scene of the crime. LSO cannot speculate on the identity of the remains, but they have called the families of both missing girls, Joanna Rogers, and Jennifer Wilkerson. "We have several priority cases, the missing girls have been high all along. This is up on top and we are trying to get information as rapidly as possible," said Sheriff Gutierrez. There are still many pieces missing from this puzzle, like how long the body was there, if the remains are male or female, the age of the victim, the cause of death, and of course the identity of the victim. They do not know how long this process will take, but the Sheriff's Department is working closely with an anthropologist out of Dallas and the medical examiner's office to try and determine the identity as soon as possible. http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=4302832

1/1/06 Autopsy on Bones Continues This Week This week the Lubbock Medical Examiner will resume the autopsy on bones found near Buffalo Springs Lake. On Thursday a human skull was discovered just East of the lake's entrance on County Road 835. Then on Friday, several bones were found under dirt and debris, near where the skull was located. The bones were then taken to University Medical Center where the autopsy is being performed. Sheriff David Gutierrez says the autopsy could take all week to complete, and law enforcement will stay at the crime scene until it's done. Because of the clothing found at the scene, it's believed the bones belonged to a man. We'll of course follow this story and bring you the latest when it becomes available. http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=4307552

New Clues in Human Remains Found New developments in the investigation into remains found near Buffalo Springs Lake. The Lubbock medical examiner's office now believes the remains belong to someone who was killed. NewsChannel 11's Jennifer Vogel found out what the next step is in finding out the identity of the remains. The medical examiner said they had all the remains they needed to help identity the young man that was found in the area. The sheriff's office on the other hand, might still be looking at evidence to see how this crime unraveled. Right now the medical examiner said it is still under investigation, and could only say the bones they found suffered traumatic violence. Medical Examiner Sridhar Natarajan says, "When we give the cause of death, it will be violence. We should have it out soon, and the manner on it should be a homicide." After 11 days of trying to piece together an identity, the only thing we do know for sure is that Joanna Rogers and Jennifer Wilkerson have not been found. Not only are the two high-profile cases still open, now investigators believe another crime took place, one they might not have even known about. "Some of the things we saw on these bones certainly makes us feel that there was some sort of violence involved in the demise of the individual." After carefully cleaning the bones and putting them back together, the medical examiner can give a preliminary identification, saying the bones belonged to a male between the ages of 12-to-19, standing 5'6" to 5'9" tall, and weighing between 150-to-180 pounds. They also found dark curly hair. "We may be able to work with DPS to reconstruct the skull and try to figure out the facial features." The big missing piece here is still the identity. DNA from hair and soft tissue that was found has been sent to Dallas to be processed in the national missing persons database. But if the young man was never reported missing, authorities will have to start back from square one. The medical examiner said if there is a matching DNA, we could know the identity by the end of February. http://www.kcbd.com/Global/story.asp?S=4340850&nav=CcXH