Wanting2Help
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FORT WORTH -- Authorities are asking for help in identifying skeletal remains found last month in northwest Tarrant County near Lakeside.
A man riding an all-terrain vehicle in the 7200 block of La Cantera discovered the first of the remains -- a skull missing its jawbone -- on Nov. 14.
Dana Austin, a forensic anthropologist with the Tarrant County medical examiner's office, said a three-day search of the site, including one day in which cadaver dogs were used, uncovered only a few scattered bones in all but, fortunately, included the skull's mandible.
Austin said the quickest way to identify the remains would be through dental-record comparisons.
"If there are no dental records for someone who is missing, we can compare DNA that would be extracted, likely from a tooth in this case, to the DNA profile of a family member," she said.
If an identification is not made, Austin said a DNA profile extracted from the remains will be entered into a DNA database for missing persons and unidentified bodies for comparison to samples already in the database.
"The remains have been there for two to seven years, so potentially the family has already reported him missing and has samples in that database," Austin said.
Based on an examination of the remains, the deceased is believed to be a white male, between 20 and 35 years of age at the time of his death. The cause of death is not known; however, drug paraphernalia was located with the remains.
The man was wearing a pair of loose-fit Levi Strauss & Co jeans, with a 30-inch waist by 34-inch length; Hanes brand socks and black lace-up Sears-brand shoes in size 10.5.
Anyone with information about the man's possible identity is asked to contact Dr. Roger Metcalf, chief of human identification, at 817-920-5700, ext. 8387.
Read more: http://www.star-telegram.com/2011/12/01/3565361/tarrant-medical-examiner-seeks.html#ixzz1fNn0OSer