By LeaAnne Klentzman

1992 - Police were called to a rural Missouri City area after workers discovered what they believed to be human bones.

On May 29, 1992, Missouri City police responded to a call to meet with fence builders in the area of Thompson Ferry Road and State Highway 6. When officers arrived, they were told that the men had discovered what they believed to be human bones.

The men explained that they were doing fence repair along the Hearne property about 2-3 tenths of a mile from the Oyster Creek Bridge when they saw the bones.

During the processing of the original scene, police noted that although the area was rural, the dumping ground for the body was a very short distance from the Oyster Creek Bridge, which was completely visible from State Highway 6.

By the time the victim had been discovered, his body had been reduced to skeletal remains. Local and national inquiries were issued in the search for the victim’s identity.

Missouri City police submitted the remains to Dr. David Glassman, a forensic anthologist affiliated with Texas State University in San Marcos and now Dean of Liberal Arts at University of Southern Indiana.

Based on the evidence, Glassman was able to determine that the victimhad been a Caucasian male, 18-25 years of age, standing between 5’3 to 5’6. Glassman told authorities the cause of death was blunt trauma to the face. Based on the condition of the remains and the tattered scraps of clothing and a coin located at the crime scene, authorities believe the victim had been there from one to three years.

As part of the investigation, the skull was submitted to a forensic artist to reconstruct a likeness of the victim’s face. Sketches were rendered and the likeness had been included in national clearinghouse for cases of this nature. Detectives hope to eventually clear this case once the victim has been identified.

“We are seeking any information on this case no matter how trivial it may seem,” said Detective Andi Wiltse.