skeleton found while hunting in Osage County
Remains Found: Kids discover human skeleton while hunting in Osage County By Matt Conley Pawhuska Journal-Capital Tuesday, January 29, 2008 4:50 PM CST PAWHUSKA — Children hunting in rural Osage County found more than they bargained for when they discovered human skeletal remains. Officials say a couple of kids were reportedly out hunting opossums on Jan. 26, a few miles east of State Highway 11 — in the area between Barnsdall and Avant — when they came across some skeletal remains. According to Osage County Sheriff Ty Koch, the kids packed the bones into their vehicle and rode around for a awhile, showing them to their buddies. “The kids didn’t know any better,” said Koch. “They just thought it was pretty cool to have a skeleton with them. They finally took it in to show a police officer, and he told them that they needed to call our office.” Sheriff’s investigators have found parts of the skeleton scattered around the area, but at this time, say they have no idea who it might be. “We were called in Saturday night around 11 p.m., and now the state medical investigators are looking at all that we have found and will take over that part of the investigation,” said Koch. “They will probably bring in an anthropologist to try and determine the sex of the body, as well as how long the skeleton may have been there. One thing that looks promising, though, is it would appear we are going to have very good teeth to work with, if we have to make an identification through dental records or DNA.” Koch said reports of missing people have been checked in Osage County, and that the Bartlesville Police Department and Washington County Sheriff’s Office have been contacted as well. Koch is also looking into missing people reports out of Tulsa, but that list has well over 300 names on it, he said. When contacted Monday, Osage County Undersheriff Lou Ann Brown said the area that the remains were discovered in is thickly wooded and that authorities were still processing the scene for evidence. She said it was unknown how long it would take for a positive identification to be made. “It’s probably going to be slow going,” said Brown. Meanwhile, Sheriff Koch encouraged anyone who happened to come across a skeleton out in the woods to try and not disturb it before calling authorities. Anyone with information is asked to contact the Osage County Sheriff’s Office at (918)287-3131. http://www.examiner-enterprise.com/articles/2008/01/29/news/news925.txt