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TXM120320 March, 2012; Tarrant Co., elderly male discovered
Topic Started: Apr 17 2012, 01:00 PM (269 Views)
ckwadsworth
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http://bigcountryhomepage.com/fulltext?nxd_id=482752

UPDATE: Big Spring Remains Likely "Elderly Male"
By: Roy Burnett, examiner.com

Updated: March 27, 2012
New information has been obtained by Examiner.com regarding the identification of a partially-mummified body in Big Spring, Texas last week.
Linda Anderson, Public Information Officer for the Tarrant County Medical Examiner's office, says positive identification may not come for some time, if ever due to the condition of the remains. She noted that DNA testing will be the only means by which an I.D. can be determined.

Anderson further stated that the age of the body is not know, but appears to be that of a fully-clothed elderly man.

She went on to say that there were no other items found with the remains.

Law enforcement sources were speculating that the remains could have been that of Hailey Dunn, a teen missing from Colorado City since late 2010. Some reports even claimed that it was 'highly likely' that the remains would be identified as the girl.

The remains were discovered less than a mile from the area where the last person to see Dunn alive had been the day she went missing.
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mimi
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http://missingpersonsnews.com/big-springs-...mains-are-male/

Big Spring, Texas, remains are male

Big Springs Texas Remains are Male
MEDIA RELEASE
BIG SPRING POLICE DEPARTMENT
03-23-2012

THE AUTOPSY ON THE REMAINS FOUND IN BIG SPRING TEXAS BEGAN A SHORT TIME AGO IN TARRANT COUNTY. DETECTIVE GEORGE OLIVER OF THE BIG SPRING POLICE DEPT. IS IN ATTENDANCE. IT HAS BEEN DETERMINED THAT THE REMAINS ARE THAT OF A MALE. AS OF THIS TIME NOTHING ELSE HAS BEEN DETERMINED AND WE WILL PUT OUT ANOTHER RELEASE FOLLOWING COMPLETION OF AUTOPSY AND A PRELIMINARY REPORT FROM THE MEDICAL EXAMINER. NO FURTHER AT THIS TIME.
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mimi
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http://www.reporternews.com/news/2012/mar/...-news-after-in/

Families of missing men wait for news after human remains in Big Spring determined to be male

By Denise Blaz
Posted March 23, 2012 at 8 p.m

When it was determined Friday that human remains discovered in Big Spring this week were that of a male, new hope might have sparked for some families of missing people.

The announcement, however, briefly flattened hope for supporters and family members of Colorado City teen, Hailey Dunn, who was 13 when she was reported missing Dec. 28, 2010. At the time of the discovery Tuesday, speculation of closure to the Dunn case quickly spread throughout the region and then went national.

John Young, who represents the missing teen's mother, Billie Jean Dunn, told the Reporter-News that the Dunn family remains hopeful the girl will be found.

"She's pleased that we have hope for Hailey again," he said about his client's reaction to the news. "She's now grieving for someone else who has lost a loved one."

In a prepared statement issued by his attorney, Shawn Adkins — the live-in boyfriend of Hailey's mother at the time of the girl's disappearance who has been named a person of interest by law enforcement — said Friday afternoon the announcement that the body wasn't Hailey was bittersweet.

"First and foremost, it provides hope for the possible safe return of Hailey," he said, adding he wished to extend his prayers to the family of the not yet identified victim.

Mitchell County Sheriff Patrick Toombs, who has investigated Hailey's disappearance from the beginning, said perhaps discovery of the remains will breathe new life into the unsolved case.

"It's a good thing and a bad thing," he said. "It's one of those deals. We're sad it wasn't her, but in another way I think we'll be getting more calls and different leads. ... I knew it was going to be a 50 percent chance."

A preliminary autopsy has yet to be performed on the remains unearthed by fuel tank workers Tuesday at their work site at Big Spring McMahon-Wrinkle Airport, according to the Big Spring Police Department.

The remains arrived at the Tarrant County Medical Examiners Office on Friday morning. No other information has been released about the remains.

Forensic anthropologists say a positive identification on the body could take a month, at most, to complete.

The elimination of Hailey as the victim raises the question of who might have been found in Big Spring this week.

Five missing people were last seen in the city, according to the Department of Public Safety website.

The criminal investigations date back to 1979, according to the DPS. In two cases, foul play is possible. Out of the five cases, only one is described as being a woman.

Mark Allen Merritt was a 21-year-old man at the time of his disappearance May 1, 1982. No other details were available in Merritt's case.

Russell Gray, a then-32-year-old man, was last seen inside a bar in Big Spring on July 1, 1986. According to information from police, Gray might have been taken against his will.

Thomas Stephen Blake, a then-30 year-old man, was last reported seen Aug. 1, 1987. Authorities say Blake's tractor-trailer rig, with all his belongings, was located four days after his disappearance.

William "Arlin" Bynum, a then-40-year-old man, was last seen Aug, 15, 2003, leaving a bar and grill with an unidentified man after signing a $17 tab.

Bynum's truck in the restaurant's parking lot was the only evidence left behind, and foul play is suspected.

His mother, Deanna Hartford, said she still remains optimistic about finding her son.

"Mothers are not supposed to bury their children," she said this week. "But that's my baby and I want to know where he is."
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tatertot
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http://www.oaoa.com/news/crime_justice/law...19bb30f31a.html

Human remains found in Scurry County
Posted: Monday, March 18, 2013 4:41 pm
BY CELINDA HAWKINS

Several law enforcement agencies converged on a location near Lake J.B. Thomas Monday after human remains were found there Saturday afternoon, officials from the Department of Public Safety reported.

Human bones were found at a location south of Snyder near Lake J.B. Thomas, Senior Trooper Sparky Dean reported Monday.

Investigators said they have not identified the remains at this time. But speculation has already begun about whether the remains are those of missing Colorado City teen Hailey Dunn.

Billie Jean Dunn, the mother of the missing teen, was in contact with investigators following the discovery of the bones.

Dunn reported her 13-year-old daughter missing Dec. 28, 2010, from the family’s home in Colorado City. Since then, there has been very little evidence uncovered involving her disappearance. Shawn Adkins, the then live-in boyfriend of Billie Jean Dunn, is the only person identified as a suspect by Colorado City police. No arrests have been made in the case.

The remains were found near the lake about 22 miles west of the community of Dunn, where Adkins lived with his grandmother following the teen’s disappearance.

Dean did not know what types of bones had been discovered. However, Billie Jean Dunn said via text message investigators said that “as soon as they can compare dental records they (investigators) will let me know.”

An FBI evidence-response team has been at the scene of where the remains were found since Sunday and remained through Monday, Katie Chaumont said, the FBI public affairs specialist out of the Dallas division.

The Texas Rangers requested the FBI’s assistance, which is routinely done because of the FBI team’s expertise on processing and collecting evidence, Chaumont said. The team was expected to leave Snyder by Monday evening.

When asked if the FBI agents were on scene because of the possibility it could be Hailey Dunn, Chaumont could not speculate and referred to the local law enforcement. She did say that the evidence-response teams are called at the assistance of local law enforcement.

The bones were found by an individual who immediately contacted the Scurry County Sheriff’s Office, Dean said. Scurry County investigators enlisted the assistance of the Texas Rangers and the DPS.

Because of the extreme decomposition, investigators have been unable to determine the gender and age of the bones, including whether the remains are that of an adult or child. Billie Jean Dunn said investigators did not tell her whether clothing was found near the remains.

Dean said the remains will be sent to a medical examiner either in Lubbock or Tarrant County.

“We are treating this as a crime scene,” Dean said. “We want to make sure that we preserve any evidence that may have been left behind.”

An expert in identifying human remains, Dr. Roger Metcalf, who works in the Human Identification Laboratory in Tarrant County, said that with skeletal remains there’s no way to tell how long it might take to identify a person. And it’s possible that the skeletal remains might never be identified, he said. Metcalf was speaking generally and not specifically about the remains found in Scurry County near Snyder.

The probability of identifying a person with just a skeleton is elevated if they’re part of the DNA database, or if they can be linked through their dental records with the person’s dentist, through X-rays or other internal tracking signs such as the serial number on a hip replacement, he said.

Hailey Dunn’s mother Billie Jean Dunn said that she submitted DNA to law enforcement following her daughter’s disappearance. DNA from Hailey’s grandparents and her biological father, Clint Dunn, was also submitted, Billie Jean Dunn said.

“Encourage your readers that if someone goes missing to get DNA submitted … it’s the best shot,” Metcalf said. “With skeletal remains it’s really hard to get an estimate. It could be a day or two, and some don’t ever get (identified).”

Almost one year ago to the day, on March 20, 2012, police in Big Spring found human remains near the McMahon Wrinkle Airport. Just two days later it was discovered that the remains were those of a male and that they had been in the location on the southeast corner of the airport at a steel oil tank manufacturer for quite some time.
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