Resolved MI - Galien River in New Buffalo - Human Bones, March 2011 - *RELIC*

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CarlK90245

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After a high school student found a bone attached to a lure while fishing last week, a Berrien County dive team returned to the area Tuesday and discovered numerous other bones -- later confirmed to be human.

...

Three New Buffalo High School students were fishing March 23 on the Galien River, east of Red Arrow, when one of their lines got snagged. After dislodging the line, the student reeled it in and found the bone.
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Read More:
http://www.woodtv.com/dpp/news/local/sw_mich/Human-bones-found-in-Galien-River.
 
Michigan, Indiana and Illinois all come together near New Buffalo.
 
That is true. That is where my family vacationed every summer when I was growing up. It's a really big vacation area for Chicago people, especially South Siders. I've never heard of missing people in the town but then again, who is aware of that stuff at the age of 8? Many fond memories.

The time changes right around here (just north of the Michigan border on the lake, which is where EST starts) and the time on my cell phone always jumps around because it is never sure where I really am!

Anyway, IMO it isn't a drift in from the lake but depending on where it is (I don't know where in town it is, don't recall a river near the lakeshore off the top of my head) I guess it is possible.
 
Claudette said:
That is true. That is where my family vacationed every summer when I was growing up. It's a really big vacation area for Chicago people, especially South Siders. I've never heard of missing people in the town but then again, who is aware of that stuff at the age of 8? Many fond memories.

The time changes right around here (just north of the Michigan border on the lake, which is where EST starts) and the time on my cell phone always jumps around because it is never sure where I really am!

Anyway, IMO it isn't a drift in from the lake but depending on where it is (I don't know where in town it is, don't recall a river near the lakeshore off the top of my head) I guess it is possible.
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It is, and I too have visited New Buffalo and the surrounding area though not in a few years. IIRC it is appx an hour drive from the IL/IN stateline to the New Buffalo area.


I wish we had an age and a race for this UID. I recall (but can't find) a missing persons case from this area - a teenage boy IIRC who left with his dog? for a walk in the winter? but for the life of me I can't recall his name. I did a search through Doenetwork last night but their listed MP cases might be too old. I'll do some more digging today to see if I can find it. This particular MP case stood out to me because my sons godfather has a summer home near the lake not far from New Buffalo. Will add the link if I can find the MP case. Otherwise, does this MP case ring a bell to anyone?
 
Found the case I was thinking of... Steven Kraft age 12 missing from Benton Harbor, MI. Benton Harbor is also in Berrien County and the distance between New Buffalo and Benton Harbor is 26.8 miles.

http://www.trueknowledge.com/q/what...michigan_and_benton_harbor,_michigan_in_miles

Stevens Charley Project page:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kraft_steven.html

Of course with very little info on the remains found the above possibility is based on location and that the older dog led family to a local pond but no evidence of Steven was found near the pond. Charley Project also indicates Stevens puppy was later found near a creek. However the creek is not named at Charley Project and it is unknown if this creek leads into the river in which these remains were found.
 
http://mapq.st/hbeYxv

the above link is a mapquest driving directions link between New Buffalo and Benton Harbor. Both towns are very near the lake and appear to be along or near the route where this river flows. I did a quick news search on Steven Krafts disappearance and noticed both Joseph Edward Duncan and Michael Devlin have been discussed in MSM regarding Stevens case. Devlins family was known to vacation in this area most often in the summer time but it is possible Devlin visited this area during winter months. Also, this area of lake Michigan would not be a viable dumping location in the winter months as much of the lake nearest the shore does in fact freeze, break and refreeze so there is much broken/blocks of ice. A river however would not likely fully freeze over during the winter months.


http://www.bismarcktribune.com/news...cle_6b287d8e-e01d-580a-88de-b5b690b463e1.html

http://www.projectjason.org/forums/index.php?topic=3798.0

I'm also looking to see if there are any missing swimmers, fisherman or boating/kayaking/canoeing accidents in this area in which persons may not have been recovered.
 
For those not familiar with the area, just to give you an idea of the location. I've never taken 94 from New Buffalo north (took a local smaller hwy I think, probably Red Arrow looking at the map) but it is very woodsy and desolate. A lot of artists and antique shops and other cute little mom and pop places dot the road. Anne Heche's sister has a jewelry shop around the area as well and the Mayor has a home just south of New Buffalo in Indiana. To give you an idea of how dense and expansive the woods are, a few years ago some inmates in Michigan City (not far from New Buffalo, maybe 20 or 30 min) escaped and were living in the woods for a while. It was actually really creepy, at night I was afraid they would come in because the house is an old 20s vacation house and doesn't have deadbolts. Everything in that area is in the woods - houses, shops, restaurants, etc. It's pretty neat to someone who is a Chicago suburbanite lol

I do remember the river now. Talked about canoeing on it last year.
 
A google search of any missing boaters, swimmers ..... on Galien River only came up with one story covered and the victim was recovered. I'm unable to locate any information on accident victims not recovered from the Galien River.
 
Cubby said:
Found the case I was thinking of... Steven Kraft age 12 missing from Benton Harbor, MI. Benton Harbor is also in Berrien County and the distance between New Buffalo and Benton Harbor is 26.8 miles.


Of course with very little info on the remains found the above possibility is based on location and that the older dog led family to a local pond but no evidence of Steven was found near the pond. Charley Project also indicates Stevens puppy was later found near a creek. However the creek is not named at Charley Project and it is unknown if this creek leads into the river in which these remains were found.
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I thought of Steven Kraft right away as well.

NAMUS lists 5 people missing from Berrien County:

Steven Kraft, 2/15/2001, age 12
Shirley Pullen, 12/31/1986, age 70
Marie Strandberg, 3/24/1982, age 46
Glenna West, 12/5/1977, age 34
Janis Sanders, 8/5/1975, age 25

Of course, this area is a frequent travel destination, especially for individuals from Illinois, Indiana, and Michigan, so the deceased could be from anywhere. I used to rent a cottage in New Buffalo with friends once a year - its really a very quaint area.

Hopefully they are able to narrow down age, gender, and race from the bones that were found.
 
Cubby said:
Found the case I was thinking of... Steven Kraft age 12 missing from Benton Harbor, MI. Benton Harbor is also in Berrien County and the distance between New Buffalo and Benton Harbor is 26.8 miles.

http://www.trueknowledge.com/q/what...michigan_and_benton_harbor,_michigan_in_miles

Stevens Charley Project page:
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/k/kraft_steven.html

Of course with very little info on the remains found the above possibility is based on location and that the older dog led family to a local pond but no evidence of Steven was found near the pond. Charley Project also indicates Stevens puppy was later found near a creek. However the creek is not named at Charley Project and it is unknown if this creek leads into the river in which these remains were found.
Click to expand...

It says they searched Blue Creek, so that was probably where he went in. Looking at the map, it appears that there's a large river between Benton Harbor and the Galien River, so it's very unlikely a body could get from one to the other, despite the proximity.
 
carbuff said:
It says they searched Blue Creek, so that was probably where he went in. Looking at the map, it appears that there's a large river between Benton Harbor and the Galien River, so it's very unlikely a body could get from one to the other, despite the proximity.
Click to expand...


Thanks. I hadn't read the entire Charley page. Since there were no witnesses I don't beleive it is known where Steven may or may not have gone into a body of water. My understanding is the search was conducted based on the family dog leading them to this location.

It is possible it could be Steven or any of the other missing persons listed in NamUs, or it could be someone not reported missing, or even an accident which I/we can't find MSM on. I do hope the person is able to be named and brought back to the family missing them.

I do find myself wondering about silting patterns and water flow as even Stevens case is now 10 years old. And what the odds are a person in a river for 10 years or longer would be found as silting and water flow patterns are something I know nothing about. I guess we'll have to wait for more info on these remains.
 
"It wasn't long before the Berrien County Sheriff Dive Team was activated and more bones were found. As of Wednesday, divers have recovered at least 63 bones, all believed to be from the same person.

Detectives have since recalled every missing person file from Berrien and all surrounding counties. The list includes more than twenty names.

Divers have collected bones from the victim's arms, legs, fingers, toes and most importantly the jaw bone which contained a few teeth. Investigators hope dental records will help identify the person.

"99 percent of the time it's usually an animal, one percent of the time it's not, either way it’s very time consuming,” said Det. Lt. Mike Dannaffel with the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department."

Article complete with border-line inappropriate "throw me a bone here" jokes.

http://www.wndu.com/hometop/headlines/118881684.html
 
LE is waiting for spring to do a dive to look for the skull. From what I understand once they have found the skull or tried to locate it then they will send the remains off to MSU anthropology lab.
 
some friends of my sons are the ones who found these bones while fishing.

We live in Three Oaks which is the next town over from New Buffalo. My father and sons fish the Galien River all the time. I can't figure out which section of the river this was at though, boys said they'd show me this weekend. I've been busy and out of town with a death in the family but was wondering if there was a thread here about this.
 
Thanks Claudette. :blowkiss:

Let's keep an eye out if there is confirmation these are ancient remains. We do the rule out thing for ancient remains since we know they won't match up with any missing persons.
 
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