Shelbie Harris

Staff Writer

Faculty, staff and students of the Idaho State University anthropology department have been tasked with locating a human skull involved in a cold case that dates back to 1979.

Although the endeavor is a grim and daunting undertaking, it is equally educational and rewarding for those involved.

“This body has been part of my life for the last 20 years in one way or another,” said Christian Petersen, an assistant lecturer in the anthropology department.“It has been, for me, an absolute invaluable teaching tool with over 10 years of human osteology students having gone through my class conducting case study, after case study, after case study on that thing.”

Petersen said in 1997 the Idaho Museum of Natural History was charged with housing the remains and he was responsible for processing the body.

Recently reopened by the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, the case involves the discovery of human remains in Civil Defense caves north of Dubois near the Montana border.

Initially in 1979 a human torso without appendages was uncovered, followed by the arms and legs located in 1991. The head and identity of the victim remain missing.

DNA identification is possible without the recovery of the skull, however the skull offers the ability for a positive identification not available from other remains.

“The skull is the best indicator for ancestry estimation and it’s also an indicator for age and sex as well,” said Kyra Stull, ISU assistant professor of anthropology and a forensic anthropologist who is leading the team. “Most of the genetic variation that’s captured in your skeletal elements is going to be in your cranium. More importantly it has many of the individualizing characteristics that can provide definite ancestry estimation such as the frontal sinuses and dentition.”

Stull said researchers have collected morphological and metric data from the remains found previously to estimate a biological profile of the missing person: a white male in his mid-30s to mid-40s who was between 66 and 74 inches tall.

DNA samples have been sent to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System to be registered and analyzed for potential matches using Geographical Information Systems (GIS).

On Feb. 27 the group traveled to the caves to employ archaeological techniques in an attempt to recover the missing skull.

The team of anthropologists were supported by Clark County crime scene investigators, as well as technicians from the Idaho Virtualization Laboratory.

“When I heard [ISU] had [a 3D scanner] I was thrilled to be able to have them come and help,” said Deputy John Clements with the Clark County Sheriff’s Office. “That I know of, it’s one of the first cases in at least Southeast Idaho that we are able to utilize some of this new technology.”

While on site, the group surveyed the caves using GPS technology.

A 3D laser scanner was used to provide a geographic map of the cave and excavation was conducted by Stull and her team.

The cave is roughly 300 meters long, 20 to 50 meters wide and in some locations, up to 50 meters high.

According to Stull, 370 cubic feet of silt was removed.

“Essentially we built trenches that were one meter wide, and two meters deep and depending on the geography in the cave, varied in length,” said Stull. “Because we were in a limited area, we basically were playing a game of move the dirt around.”

Stull said she has been working as a forensic anthropologist since 2006 in both the U.S. as well as South Africa. This particular case marks her third forensic case at Idaho State University since her arrival in August 2014.

Although this was not the first forensic archeological dig for Stull, who said this was a great hands-on experience for everyone involved, this dig was for some, including graduate student Cortney Hulse, a first-time experience.

“Great professors teach you the necessary protocols, they teach you what it’s supposed to look like and what you need to do, so when you are out there you already have the rubric in your head of what’s supposed to go into this dig,” Hulse said. “We had people with all sorts of experience including archeologists and forensic anthropologists putting in their effort to make this dig as successful as possible.”

If anyone has information that may be pertinent to this case, they are encouraged to call the Clark County Sheriff’s Office at 208- 374-5403.