Identified! WV - Barbour Co., Human remains on Tygart River, Jan'12 - Thomas Blankenship

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Possible human remains found along Tygart River
January 10, 2012
By Brad Johnson - Staff Writer (bjohnson@theintermountain.com) , The Inter-Mountain
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A team from Washington, D.C. has been called in to investigate possible human remains found along the Tygart River near Arden, the Barbour County Sheriff's Department said late Tuesday evening.

According to a press release from Barbour Sheriff John W. Hawkins, a resident reported to the Barbour County 911 center on Tuesday afternoon that he'd found what he believed to be a shallow grave containing human remains.

"Upon arriving on scene, deputies observed disturbed sand along the river bank, along with some rocks that had been stacked and a small hole dug by the resident," the press release stated. "In the hole, there appears to be a body. It appears to be the leg of a human."

https://www.theintermountain.com/page/content.detail/id/549104/Possible-human-remains-found-along-Tygart-River.html?nav=5014
 
The Barbour County Sheriff's Department is investigating possible human remains found in a shallow grave Tuesday afternoon

The department says it was flooded with calls that it could be the remains of missing 3-year-old Aliayah Lunsford who vanished from her home in the nearby Lewis County, but deputies tell Eyewitness News it is "in no, way shape or form" connected to the Lunsford case.

http://www.wchstv.com/newsroom/eyewitness/120111_7974.shtml
 
From the link in the OP:

The Sheriff's Office is requesting that anyone who may have seen any suspicious activity in the Arden area last week report it by calling (304) 457-2352 and speaking to Chief Deputy Brett Carpenter.

This must be a fairly recent crime if investigators are only asking for people to contact them regarding suspicious activity in the last week.
 
New article up with more details about this UID.

Link

The UID is a white male, 225 pounds, and approximately 6' tall.

There are tattoos and the Barbour County police are treating it as a homicide.
 
This description is very similiar to Earnest Francis missing from sistersville, wv. But he's been missing since 5/2011.
 
This young adult went to school with my daughters. I live outside of west union and I didn't hear anything about him being missing. Nothing on the news or in the local papers. Didn't anyone notice him missing? The news says he was killed on Dec. 29 and his body was reported found on Jan 10th. Very disturbing and way to close to home...again.
 
From July 2013:

http://www.theet.com/news/court_and...cle_c63b5b10-ee92-11e2-9810-001a4bcf887a.html

Three friends once considered each other as brothers. Now, one is dead, one is scheduled to serve the rest of his life in prison and the third is likely to face nearly half a century behind bars...

Killed was Thomas Ray “T.J.” Blankenship of West Union. Convicted of first-degree murder without chance of parole on Tuesday, which would have been the 22nd birthday of Blankenship, was William Bee Murray, 29, of Salem...

And awaiting a hearing in which he’s to plead guilty to second-degree murder, concealment of a deceased human body and admit to a recidivist filing is Clayton S. Collins, 29, of Clarksburg. Collins will face up to 40 years for the second-degree murder, another five years for it being his second felony conviction, and at least one more year for the concealment of the body.
 

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