Skull, unidentified bone fragments investigated

Skull, unidentified bone fragments investigated

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Unidentified bone fragments have been recovered as local authorities continue an investigation into human remains found on the side of a road in east Neshoba County last Wednesday, according to Sheriff Eric Clark.

“We will continue to monitor things,” Clark said. “We are checking the area daily and hopefully we will get some answers. It's the craziest thing ever.”

Clark said Neshoba County Medical Examiner John Stephens is working with the state Crime Lab concerning the remains.

The Sheriff’s Department received a call on Saturday, April 22, from a resident near the intersection of County Road 729 and CR 733 who reported their dog had brought them bone fragments.

Clark said experts were unable to determine if the bone pieces were human or not and they have been submitted to the state Crime Lab for further testing. 

The reports come after human remains were discovered in the same area earlier last week.

Clark said his office received a call at about 7:45 a.m. on Wednesday, April 19, from a woman on the side of Road 729 in the Shady Grove community near the intersection with Road 733 below the Mars Hill Cemetery reporting that she had found what she believed to be skeletal remains.

After deputies and investigators arrived on the scene they verified that what the woman found was in fact a piece of human bone.

An initial assessment suggests the piece of bone is likely part of a female human skull. Clark said the coroner’s assessment also shows the piece to be older. There are no signs an animal had gotten a hold of it, according to Clark.

“Right now, we can’t explain how it got there,” Clark said.

Authorities have since conducted grid searches of the area up to about a quarter-mile radius from where the initial bone fragment was found, Clark said. He said these searches were conducted on Thursday, Saturday and Sunday. Members of the community have assisted in the search.

Clark said his office has been in close contact with the Kemper County Sheriff’s Office, which has also contributed resources and manpower to the search.

The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation was also notified as well as the Mississippi Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Both agencies have assisted local authorities in the grid searches, according to Clark.

Clark said they have brought in bloodhounds and cadaver dogs from other jurisdictions to search the area but have not found any more remains.

Clark said Flussy, the white bulldog who found the bone pieces on Saturday, has proved to be one of the most productive searchers at this point in the investigation.

“Flussy is hands-down the most valuable investigator we have at the moment,” the sheriff said.

He said the dog was present during the searches over the weekend and hoped that she would lead them back to where she found the bone fragments.

Clark said he has identified a number of missing person cases with two having close ties to the area.

A Kemper County man crashed his car, a 2009 Accord, in the area in January 2021, left the scene and was last seen walking toward his home.

Clark said another disappearance was reported on Old Jackson Road in Kemper County. A woman was last seen in that area on September 2, 2021. Clark said Old Jackson Road in Kemper  County is not far from where the bone fragments were found.

Anyone with information should call CrimeStoppers at 1-855-485-8477.






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