Resolved IL - McHenry Co., two human skulls, Jan'12 - Academic Models

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BULL VALLEY – Police and coroner's office investigators are looking into why two human skulls were found along the road near a residence in the 1500 block of Cherry Valley Road.

McHenry County Cororner Marlene Lantz said the skulls appeared "bleached out" without any tissue or flesh.

"They were just laying in the snow on the side of the road," Lantz said this morning.

Lantz said she is trying to locate an anthropologist to assist in the investigation but said she had no other details at this point.

http://www.nwherald.com/2012/01/25/death-investigation-under-way-in-bull-valley/a4jg827/
 
1500 Cherry Valley Road, Bull Valley, IL - Google Maps

Map of the location the remains were found.

I'm wondering if these may be ancient remains?

Also, thinking along the lines of a case of two missing persons in the area and all that comes to mind immediately are Diamond and Tionda Bradley. However there is currently no information as to the estimated age of the remains found today.
 
The McHenry County coroner’s office has confirmed the remains are human skulls and police believe they “have no relation to any open missing person’s investigation,” authorities said in a news release. Police are searching for "any additional evidence" near where the skulls were found, police said.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...enry-county-20120125,0,834080.story?track=rss


Not sure how they could determine these are not related to any open missing persons case so quickly, (within a few hours?) but perhaps there have been ancient remains found in the area or it is known by historians there were private family plots in this immediate area.
 
Bull Valley Police Chief Robert Vance said he was “satisfied with the search,” which included several cadaver dogs and dozens of law-enforcement officials who canvassed several acres. He said there was no apparent threat to the community and that the skulls are not believed to be tied to any active missing-persons case in the area.

Police said they also checked the nearest cemetery but found no signs that any graves had been disturbed.

Leanne See-Garcia said it appeared as though the skulls might have been tossed onto her property by a passing car.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...-rural-mchenry-county-20120125,0,834080.story

Warning, graphic image at link.

BBM. I thought the same thing.
 
Leanne See-Garcia said it appeared as though the skulls might have been tossed onto her property by a passing car.


http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/...-rural-mchenry-county-20120125,0,834080.story

Warning, graphic image at link.

BBM. I thought the same thing.
I havent' read all of the articles, but that's the first thing that came to my mind, too. The skulls were found by a boy in the yard of his residence. I know it's a big yard, but if they were visible in the snow, they surely would've been spotted before the snow, if they were there. And with no other bones found nearby, it sounds to me like they recently were placed in this location . They could've come from anywhere.
 
I havent' read all of the articles, but that's the first thing that came to my mind, too. The skulls were found by a boy in the yard of his residence. I know it's a big yard, but if they were visible in the snow, they surely would've been spotted before the snow, if they were there. And with no other bones found nearby, it sounds to me like they recently were placed in this location . They could've come from anywhere.


There's not that much snow left. We had 5-9" of snow on Friday depending on the area and then Sunday it warmed up and rained. It's been mostly above freezing during the day since Sunday. The photo looked way too clean to me to even have been in the elements with the snow and rain within the last 5-6 days. Someone had to have just tossed them there, but from where? My immediate guess is a school of somekind.

There's been the odd case every so often of something stolen from a school and tossed into a public area as a prank. Far and few between, but I recall hearing of them in the Chicagoland area.
 
Yeah, if it was in a public area, I might think it was a prank. But this doesn't sound like a practical joke. I looked at the photo of the skull, and I agree with you. There's no pooling of water or debris in the cavities, nor stains from moisture. It's pristine. Then I think that if someone wanted to get rid of it, why now? Why not wait until the ground thaws and bury it? Really odd.

I wonder if the jaw was missing from the second skull.
 
The link with the image warning has been updated and indicates only one of the skulls was found without the jaw.

I agree with your comment about waiting for the ground to thaw. Makes me wonder why a front lawn area as well instead of a body of water.

When I read a 12 year old boy found the skull and saw how clean it was I immediately thought 12 yr olds and pranks..... Kids that age often have older siblings who are of driving age. While I think 16 and 17 yr old drivers are limited to the number of passengers they can drive with unless accompanied by an adult driver, I'm sure many don't follow that rule.

If it is not a prank, something far more nefarious had to occur to get the skull that clean.

Another thought is perhaps the skulls were moved to that location by snow plowing equipment? In some rural area's such as this the roads are private versus public/city owned and the residents have the responsibility of maintaining them.
 
The skull in the photo is an educational specimen IMO. There appears to be a wire clip affixed to its left cheekbone, put there to hold the mandible in place.

And BTW, it looks like a female skull. There is no brow ridge, and the upper boundries of the orbits are sharp.
 
That makes perfect sense, Carl. I couldn't quite make it out. I thought it was something placed there by the police. I figured if it was attached to the skull, the sheriff or deputy coroner would have mentioned it. Why bring out cadaver dogs and check missing persons cases? But I think you're probably right.

I also question the way it was photographed. Didn't the mother say she placed the first skull, the one with no jaw, in a plastic bag?
 
I'm inclined to agree with the theory they were stolen from a school, and maybe someone with a guilty conscience recognized the fact they were the remains of human beings and wanted to leave them somewhere where they would be quickly found and given a proper burial. Too bad a child found them. :( I'm guessing this person was afraid to take them to LE for fear of being accused of the theft or worse.
 
I agree it looks like a female. Also from what i can see (may be seeing it wrong because of the photo) it looks like it has a hyperbolic maxilla, suggesting it could be someone of african decent. Also the Frontal Suture seems closed (from what i can tell with the light reflecting off the skull) so likely an adult. I want to belive it is a specimen, but i've never seen a medical specimen that clean, and by that i mean that skull has been polished (and not just boiled clean, it looks as if it is over-polished). Any medical specimen skulls I have seen previously were very clean but not polished, i assume so students can feel the texture of the bone. I hope these are specimens and not a calling card.

i will point out ahead of this that i have no formal anthropology training. I have read several books. I'm an uneducated bibliophile with a mind that needs to learn. All of this is IMHO.
 
No connection to Barbara. Urlacher was killed several years ago in CO in a drug deal. Never convicted. There was never any word of someone else being involved. How then would the skulls get from the mystery grave in Huntley and why now to Bull Valley?
 
No connection to Barbara. Urlacher was killed several years ago in CO in a drug deal. Never convicted. There was never any word of someone else being involved. How then would the skulls get from the mystery grave in Huntley and why now to Bull Valley?


Hi and welcome to WS lherda1006. :welcome:

We usually look at MP's missing from the county in which remains are found. I posted Barbara as a possible before I saw the photo of the skull available in MSM. Once the photo was published in it became pretty obvious these were academic models.

I had spoken to the detective handling Barbara's case a few years back. (A Mike Nelson, iirc. I think someone else is assigned to her case currently.) At the time the detective told me he believed Barbara could have been buried along the Randall Rd route or along the Fox river between Huntley and St. Charles.

Barbara has a thread here at WS. There is a lot more discussion on her case at this thread. I'm glad to see some interest in her case. Here's the thread:

IL IL - Barbara Glueckert, 14, Huntley, 21 Aug 1976 *merged* - Websleuths Crime Sleuthing Community
 
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