Coconino Sheriff's Office seeks identity to human remains found near camp site

Human skeletal remains located in Forest Lakes

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Flagstaff, AZ- Two individuals who were hiking in the Forest Lakes area found what they believed to be a human skull and reported this information to the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office on Friday, May 25, 2012 at about 6:45 am.  Deputies responded to the scene and made contact with the reporting party.   The skull was confirmed to be of human origin and several other human bones were found in close proximity to a camp site located off of Forest Service Road 237. 

 

Deputies located the following items at the nearby campsite:  a tan colored two man nylon tent, a turquoise-green colored five gallon plastic water jug, a fishing pole, a tan tee shirt size 2XL, blue jean pants waist size 44, a blue and black hiking back pack, red Peter Built suspenders attached to a green nylon or rubber fishing waders, a Harley Davidson handkerchief with an eagle on it, a tan ball cap with a red embroidered ocean diver emblem, and a green Bass Pro ball cap.

 

Due to apparent animal activity at the site, not all of the skeletal remains were recovered.  Detectives believe the body was at the camp site for an extended period of time.  There was no vehicle parked in close proximity to the camp site, and Detectives did not find any forms of identification during their search of the site.  Due to the length of time the body was exposed to the elements and animal activity, the mode and manner of death was not readily apparent.  During a subsequent search of the area, aided by three human remain detection dogs owned and handled by Search and Rescue Volunteers, an additional twenty-five human bones were located. 

 

Anyone with information on the above described camp site and property, or the possibly identity of the deceased victim is asked to call the Coconino County Sheriff’s Office at (928) 774-4523 or 1-800-338-7888.

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