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Pocono News Section
Investigators Calling on Anthropologist to Help ID Remains
Investigators Calling on Anthropologist to Help ID Remains - Monday, April 5, 2010 at 04:06AM EST
Reported by: Andy Mehalshick
Monday April 05 2010
HUNLOCK CREEK, LUZERNE COUNTY -- State and county investigators are trying to determine the identity of the skeletal remains found in Hunlock Creek over the weekend.
The I-Team first told you about the discovery on Saturday. Monday the search for answers continues, and some believe these remains could be those of two missing Luzerne County women.
The skeletal remains of at least one person were found over the weekend in a wooded area near Roaring Brook Drive in Hunlock Creek. At least one human skull was found, along with many other bones. Some may be animal bones.
Monday Luzerne County Coroner John Corcoran, state and local detectives and Forensic Pathologist Dr. Gary Ross examined the bones at Wilkes-Barre General Hospital.
Corcoran spoke with the media after the examination. "Dr. Ross is not ready to make any statements now. We need a little bit more time. We're gong to bring in an anthropologist to get a second opinion. As far as we're concerned right now we do have skeletal remains, human skeletal remains. An anthropologist will take a look, then contact the families," said Corcoran.
The remains were found in an area near Sweet Valley where two young women disappeared. They are Phylica Thomas and Jen Barziloski.
The anthropologist can help determine the gender and possible identity. "The anthropologist will know the difference We got a lot of bones and we brought everything out of the site. They will be separated and catalogued to make sure it's all true. If it's not, we want the expert to say it isn't," added Corcoran.
The family of Phylica Thomas was contacted over the weekend for dental records of their daughter. It's unclear if those records have been used yet in the identification process.
Also Monday the family and friends of both Thomas and Barziloski visited the site where the remains were discovered. They went seeking peace of mind and justice.
Pauline Bailey is the mother of 22-year-old Phylica Thomas of Sweet Valley. She vanished in 2004. The family spent months looking for her. "We've been here searching. We mapped out this place. There was nothing here. This just had to happen," she told Eyewitness News on Monday.
Bailey was joined by family members who have been searching for Thomas and her friend, 18-year-old Jen Barziloski, who vanished in the same area in 2002.
As police try to identify the remains and determine just how many bodies were found here, Bailey says she already knows the answer. "Yeah I think so. I think so I just want those to pay, to go to jail for the rest of their lives," she said.
Friend Yvonne Confletti also hopes this will end a nightmare for friends and family of the young women. "I hope it is. I hope we get closure. I'm scared for my own kids. I'm scared for other families out here. I think this is stirring a bees nest," she said. | | |
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