MANY, La. — More skeletal remains and other undisclosed items were recovered last week when divers re-entered an abandoned water well in rural Sabine Parish. 

A partially decomposed body was pulled from the well on April 18, 1986 as part of a missing person investigation. Sabine Central Fire Department firefighters who are trained to do rescues in confined spaces were utilized to go back into the well on April 19 as part of an ongoing investigation into the cold case. 

“They spent several hours in there,” Sabine Parish sheriff’s Chief Deputy Brad Walker said today of the search of the well on Recknor Road.

Investigators were unable to determine a DNA profile from the remains recovered 35 years ago. But the additional information found recently leads Sabine authorities to believe the remains are those of a missing person from Grand Isle. 

The LSU Forensic Anthropology and Computer Enhancement Services (FACES) Laboratory in Baton Rouge completed a facial reconstruction of the first remains in 2008 and determined the unidentified remains to be a white man, between 30 and 45, who died at least six months or more prior to December 1985. His dental profile and an old shotgun injury to the hip provided valuable identifiers to the forensic examiners but still wasn’t enough for a positive identification. 

The bones and other items removed from the well last week have been sent to FACES for further DNA analysis and possible identification. 

SOURCE: KTBS

To report an issue or typo with this article – CLICK HERE