Identified! MD - Frederick Co., Remains in shallow grave, Jun'17 - Victor Turcios-Valle

The Frederick County Sheriff's Office is investigating after human remains were found by a hiker this week off Gambrill Park Road north of Frederick Municipal Forest.

The remains were found in what investigators described as a shallow grave sometime Thursday evening. It was promptly reported to the sheriff's office, said Maj. Tim Clarke, a spokesman for the agency. Sheriff's office investigators remained on the scene Thursday into Friday to secure the remains and stayed for some time to investigate.

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"We're clearly now focused on the identification of the individual ... [but] it's still going to be a difficult time for us to make an identification," Clarke said. "I don't even have any information as to gender or anything like that at this point. That'll be something that we'll still need assistance from the medical examiner's office on."

The remains were "significantly decomposed," and appear to have been in the grave for some time, but investigators were not ready to provide any estimates as of Friday.

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JerseyGirl said:

Given the conditions under which the remains were discovered, buried and off the road north of Coxey Brown Road, detectives have every indication the investigation will remain a criminal matter.

http://www.journal-news.net/news/local-news/2017/07/human-remains-found-by-hiker/

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37-year-old Victor Antonio Turcios-Valle had last been seen on April 2 by his family, according to police.

Officials at the Frederick County Sheriff's Office say they received a call on June 29 after the hiker found the "possible human remains" in some woods off of Gambrill Park Road. When deputies got to the scene, they say they confirmed that what the hiker found were human remains and set up a crime scene.

Turcios-Valle identity was confirmed through a DNA examination, according to police, and the death investigation remains ongoing.

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