Identified! AR - Lonoke Co., Human Skull found, Dec'05 - Latarra Moore

http://www.kark.com/news/default.asp?mode=shownews&id=5432

Human Skull Found in Lonoke County
( Air Date: 12/13/2005 )Lonoke County investigators say they don`t have much to go on in the case of a human skull found off Highway 381.

The skull has been sent to the state crime lab for testing in the skull`s age, how long it had been at the site, and maybe if it was always there or moved from somewhere else.

They also found what they believe to be a piece of an arm nearby.
Meanwhile, the sheriff`s department is searching the area again, this time with cadaver dogs to see if there are other remains in the area.
"You don`t have much to work with right away. You`re hoping maybe there`s dental records, or something to identify them," explained Lt. Jim Kulesa Lonoke County Sheriff`s Department.

Once they`ve received the report from the crime lab, investigators will check with other missing persons reports in the state. The Arkansas Crime Information Center has eleven people listed as missing -- none of them are from Lonoke County.

http://www.kthv.com/search/results.aspx?storyid=22014

Crews Use Cadaver Dogs To Help Identify Victim

After finding human remains off Highway 381, Central Arkansas search and rescue teams look just south of the location to set out a second time to see what more they can find. This time they're using cadaver dogs.

Search and rescue crewmember Pat Bogus says, “They have an extremely developed sense of smell. It's not the size of the dog or the type of breed; it's the size of the noses and how much they're willing to work."

As the forensic dogs sniff around for clues, Lonoke County investigators are still not clear on whether the bones were dumped in this rural area.

Jim Kulesa with Lonoke County Sheriff’s Department says, “That's why we're looking around the area, to see if we can't find anymore evidence or clues."

Clues that can hopefully tell them whether the person was male or female.

Kulesa continues, “Until we can narrow that down, then we can start looking at missing persons and reports to try and identify the victim."

With the cadaver dogs, search and rescue crews hope to uncover just how these bones ended up out here.

Bogus says, “There is a good chance they would find them. It was a cold morning; you have warm air rising now."

Search and rescue crews say they're done for now. Lonoke County investigators have not confirmed anything. They're waiting on results from the state Crime Lab.

http://www.carlisleindependent.com/Pages/12-14-05/Skull.html

Skull, bone found
in Lonoke County

By Ed Galucki
staff writer

Human remains found in Lonoke County revived questions of the 2000 disappearance of a Georgia man in the area, but Sheriff Jim Roberson cautioned against speculation. Possible identification of a skull and apparent arm bone would have to be done through DNA testing; until then no one knows, he remarked.

“We will pursue [DNA testing],” Roberson said.

Lt. Jim Kulesa, criminal investigator, said the remains, a skull, minus the jaw, and part of what seems to be an arm bone, were found by a hunter. The discovery was actually made Friday, but the individual thought it was part of a prank and did not report it, Kulesa said.

“He told his father about it Monday, and [father] went to check it out; then he called us,” Kulesa said. The remains were found in a wooded area surrounded by a wheat field, off Arkansas Hwy. 381, about seven miles south of U.S. Hwy. 70.

“We have no way to tell; it could be a body someone dumped here,” Kulesa said of identifying the remains. “The crime lab will have to take care of that,” he said.

Roberson said the site is not far from Bayou Meto, about eight miles downstream from where the last signs of Matthew Pendergrast were found in Dec. 2000.

Pendergrast was a student at Rhodes College in Memphis, Tenn., from Atlanta, Ga. He was last seen at about 8 a.m. Dec. 1, 2000, leaving his residence.

Pendergrast’s vehicle, a 1998 Toyota 4Runner, was later found by duck hunters on a private road off South Kerr Road, about a mile north of Interstate 40. His clothes and some personal belongings were found in a pile about 100 yards from his SUV, not far from Bayou Meto. There was no sign of Pendergrast.

Tracking dogs used by then-sheriff Charlie Martin followed a trail to the water’s edge but no farther. Despite an extensive search of the area, no other sign of Pendergrast was ever found.

At one point, the investigation turned to Little Rock psychic Carol Pate. Contacted by telephone Tuesday, Pate said she remembered saying that all that would be found is a skull, and that it would be several miles downstream from where Pendergrast’s clothes were found.

The skull would be near a zigzag section of Bayou Meto in the direction of Stuttgart, Pate recalled saying. “The sheriff just blew me off,” she remarked.

Frank Sturdivant, who was in charge of the investigation into the disappearance, said he hopes it turns out to be Pendergrast. “It’s the one case I couldn’t close,” he remarked.

http://www.nampn.doenetwork.us/cases/pendergrast_matthew.html


I should mention, of course that the remains haven't been identified yet, at least in any news I can find. I just posted the link because the missing man was mentioned in one of the articles.

JUJ

Does anyone know if the skull and armbone found in Lonoke County in 2005 were ever tied to Matthew Pendergrast or anyone else? The article in today's Arkansas Democrat about unidentified remains does not mention the finding of these bones. Of course, the remains listed in the article are those stored at the state medical examiner's office, so maybe these particular Lonoke County bones are at the Lonoke County sheriff's office. Or maybe they have been identified and have been buried in a grave.

From above:

Lt. Jim Kulesa, criminal investigator, said the remains, a skull, minus the jaw, and part of what seems to be an arm bone, were found by a hunter. The discovery was actually made Friday, but the individual thought it was part of a prank and did not report it, Kulesa said.

“He told his father about it Monday, and [father] went to check it out; then he called us,” Kulesa said. The remains were found in a wooded area surrounded by a wheat field, off Arkansas Hwy. 381, about seven miles south of U.S. Hwy. 70.

Click to expand...

I think this might be it:

Latarra Sheree Moore
Latarra Moore was last seen in Wrightsville, Pulaski County, Arkansas on April 29, 1998. On December 12, 2005 a landowner in Lonoke County found what he believed to be human remains on his property near Hwy. 70. Through mitochondrial DNR testing, the State Medical Examiner has positively identified the remains as those of Latarra Moore.

Click to expand...

December 12 2005 was Monday.




Matthew Prendergrast is still listed as missing
https://www.findthemissing.org/cases/563/6/
http://www.charleyproject.org/cases/p/pendergrast_matthew.html

but then so is Latarra Moore according to some sites:
http://www.lbth.org/ncma/gallery/ncmaprofile_all.php?A200604803S

Thank you Donjeta.

April 26 2023

''Moore was last seen at the 145th Social Club with a friend.

Witnesses told police that Moore got into a verbal argument with a male at the club and then left. Moore was not seen after this location.

On December 12, 2005, the Lonoke County Sheriff's Office recovered human remains in a farm field that was sent to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory.

Police said that DNA was submitted to ASCL for Latarra Moore and on Dec. 13, 2007, the remains were identified as Moore's.

The investigation was then changed from a missing person to a homicide.

Anyone with information about this case is asked to contact The Pulaski County Sheriff's Office at (501) 340-TIPS or go to their website.''