Officials Working To Identify Human Remains Found In Beaver Co.
HOPEWELL TOWNSHIP (KDKA) - Authorities are still working to identify some human remains that were found in Hopewell Township Wednesday.
Hopewell Township Police are at a standstill and with no identification found near the body, the coroner is starting from scratch trying to determine the identity. It's a process that could take several days.
KDKA's Harold Hayes Reports:
The coroner said the body was completely decomposed when it was found by two teenage boys in the woods. Only bones and clothes remained.
"I went down the hill a little bit and I found shorts with a femur in it and a few other bones," Justin Stacho said.
"We kind of thought it was an animal at first until we realized it wasn't at all, that they were too big to be an animal," Tyler Gehringer said.
KDKA's Harold Hayes Reports:
While the boys mentioned they also saw a bag under some leaves nearby, the coroner mentioned that no identification or wallet was discovered that may help in the identification.
"We're under investigation. We got the coroner working on it, we got the county detective and we got our detective working on it," Chief Vince Cipolla said.
Around 6 p.m. Wednesday, the two boys were riding dirt bikes. They say trees blocked a trail and as they attempted to find an alternate route, they found the remains. They called one of their grandparents who in turn called police.
"I knew they were serious, you could tell by the expression on their face," Gary Muller said.
KDKA's Heather Abraham Reports:
Beaver County Coroner Teri Tatalovich Rossi says right now investigators are comparing dental records to try to make a positive ID.
She said that dental records will be the most accurate way to identify the remains.
There were questions if the remains could be that of a missing person dating back a couple years, but police could not comment further.
"We're looking in to all aspects of it, but at this time, we can't say for sure," Cipolla said.
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