Bone Remains by Mary H. Manhein

Bone Remains by Mary H. Manhein

Author:Mary H. Manhein
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: LSU Press
Published: 2013-09-14T16:00:00+00:00


8. Man Overboard

The Ross Barnett Reservoir near Brandon, Mississippi, is a large artificial body of water surrounded by expensive homes, condominiums, and apartment complexes. On April 28, 2011, in the vicinity of a row of apartments, a man looked out across the water and saw what he thought was a body floating in the water. He immediately called authorities. The subsequent autopsy report noted that the white male was somewhere between fifty and sixty-five years of age, more than likely weighed around two hundred pounds, and was wearing shorts and a T-shirt. He had died by drowning. For almost five months, investigators Chris Barnes and Tim Lawless worked the case, trying to get the man identified. Their search took them to all dwellings around the reservoir, where they asked everyone who lived there if they knew of a neighbor who was missing or perhaps someone who was visiting the area and who had not been seen lately.

A few days before the body was found, someone had discovered an abandoned kayak quite a distance away from the body, but authorities had no idea whether the kayak was associated with the man.

In May 2011, authorities had a conversation with a potential witness who told them that he had encountered an older, white male in a kayak one evening in late April and had given him a small flashlight. Though the investigators were grateful for the information, it still did not lead to a positive identification of the drowning victim. Authorities were completely frustrated with their efforts. They even tried to get an image of the man out to the public to see if anyone recognized him. No one came forward to suggest that he or she knew who the victim was.

Having heard about our work at the LSU FACES Laboratory, and especially the success of our imaging specialist, Eileen Barrow, they called me in September, approximately four and one half months after the man’s body had been discovered, to ask if the FACES Laboratory would assist them in trying to get the man identified. Of course, we agreed. On September 13, 2011, the cranium, mandible, and first two cervical vertebrae of the unidentified man were submitted to us by the Rankin County Sheriff’s Office in Brandon, Mississippi.



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