KY KY - Bill Gross, 28, Jim Woodard, 25, Bryan Raley, 24, Owensboro, 25 Nov 1998

Since this is my first post I hope I'm doing it right! Please move, or delete if it's been posted before!
I found this in the news last week, and got curious since there are three people involved. (I'm assuming three sets of skeletal remains mean three different people).I haven't seen any updates and the only possibilities I could find are three kids that went missing from the area in the 70's I think, but I believe they are not connected.
I'd like to know if anyone has heard more on this, or what your ideas are.

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x1695320608/Skeletal-remains-found-in-submerged-van-in-Ky

Three sets of skeletal remains were found in a van submerged in a lake in western Kentucky, and authorities said Wednesday identifying them could take weeks.


The Messenger-Inquirer of Owensboro reported that investigators found the 1974 Ford van in about 15 feet of water in a small lake in Daviess County last week while looking for a 91-year-old Owensboro man who had been missing since July.


The human remains were taken to the state medical examiner’s office in Frankfort for identification that would include comparing dental and medical records. The van was taken to the Owensboro Police Department after it was pulled from the lake near Utica, about 11 miles south of Owensboro, and investigators processed the vehicle’s contents.


Lt. Col. Jeff Jones of the Daviess County Sheriff’s Department declined to say if any other evidence was found in the van.


“What we’re concentrating on is to get the van processed,” Jones said. “Then we’ll all be getting together to review the investigation and to see where we go from here.”


A lack of rain that contributed to lower than normal water levels probably helped investigators spot the van, Jones said.

This news link reveals the possible identity of these three individuals whom are suggested to be three men who went missing in 1998:

http://tristatehomepage.com/content/fulltext/?cid=30951


"No New Clues in Van Investigation
Reported by: Michael Chesney
Tuesday, Oct 7, 2008 @05:59pm CST

Still no update in the investigation of three bodies and a van pulled from a Daviess County lake Friday. Divers have searched the lake, looking for more clues in solving a nearly ten-year-old cold case. Bryan Raley, Bill Gross, and James Woodard went missing in 1998. They were last seen in a 1974 Ford van. That same van was pulled out of the lake Friday afternoon and inside were the skeletal remains of three men, but officials can't confirm the identities of the bodies until the state medical examiner is finished with the autopsies. It could be two weeks or longer.

Previous Report 10/4:
A van pulled from a Daviess County lake has the skeletal remains of three bodies inside. Western Kentucky law enforcement agencies pulled the van from a lake near Utica around nine Friday night. The van, the three bodies, all of this - it swirls around a western Kentucky missing persons case that is a decade old. Sitting on the back of this truck was the first time the van had seen dry land in ten years. Then, for the first in a long time, on the back of that truck, it took to the open road And, it ended up at the Owensboro Police garage. "They have taken hours and hours of painstaking work last night as well as today and will continue to do so," said Ofc. Marian Cosgrove. That work helped them determined the van was the same vehicle that had gone missing during Thanksgiving week 1998. And, when they opened the doors, three bodies were inside. "It's just too premature for us to comment on the identity of the individuals," said Daviess County Sheriff's Department Lt. Col. Jeff Jones. "The remains will be taken to the medical examiner's office in Frankfurt for further investigation." Jones worked a missing persons case in 1998. The three missing people - Bryan Raley, Bill Gross, and James Woodard - were last seen in the van, which was pulled up Friday night. About two weeks after the three men went missing, law enforcement officers thought they had a break in the case. An old Messenger-Inquirer article from December 6th, 1998, says that search teams thought cadaver dogs had found the three bodies. But, crews dug and dug and only turned up dirt. The land belonged to the Bryan Scott Terry. The Daviess County Sheriff's Department thought back then Terry might have something do with the disappearances. But, in the present, Jones wouldn't comment on whether or not this is now a murder investigation, and, if so, if Terry is a suspect. "The specific details of the investigation, we wouldn't be prepared to release right now." Terry is currently in Texarkana minimum security federal prison He was convicted in one of the largest meth busts in Kentucky history. That time was difficult for the families of the missing men. "It's worrying us to death," said Mike Gross at the time. Mike Gross is the uncle of Bill Gross, one of the missing men. Even if the bodies haven't been identified, the van ID was enough for authorities. "They have been in contact with the families," said Cosgrove. "And, any additional information we receive, we will pass onto them first." That additional information could be a long time coming. Jones says the medical examiner could take weeks to make an ID. The tip that led to the discovery of the van actually had nothing to do with this case. Owensboro Police say the tipster thought what was underwater was the truck of Charles Haywood - the 91-year-old man missing since late July. Cosgrove says even if this tip didn't help them find Haywood, she still encourages people to keep calling with any tip - no matter how small - because you never know where it will lead."

UTICA, KY (WFIE) - On Saturday investigators found the skeletal remains of three people inside a van that was submerged in a lake in Daviess County.
It has been confirmed the van is the vehicle three Ohio County men were last seen in almost 10 years ago.

All along a peaceful country road in western Kentucky, neighbors are talking about the discovery made Friday.
A van was pulled from the lake and turned a 10 year old cold case hot again.
http://www.14wfie.com/Global/story.asp?S=9122848

OWENSBORO, KY (WFIE) - The third of three bodies discovered inside a submerged van in 2008 has been identified.
Daviess County coroner Bob Howe says Bill Gross died of a gunshot wound to the head. He was 28 years old at the time he and two other men disappeared nearly 12 1/2 years ago.
The other two passengers had already been identified as Bryan Raley and James Sandy Woodard. All three had been shot.

http://www.14wfie.com/story/12228714/third-body-id-in-daviess-county-cold-case?redirected=true

A November 2020 article indicates the case is not solved.

Still Seeking Justice: 22 years later, murder of 3 men found inside van unsolved​

It appears that at the time of disappearance, they received a tip to look in that area. Hopefully the tipster comes forward with details someday.

Teamir said:

A November 2020 article indicates the case is not solved.

Still Seeking Justice: 22 years later, murder of 3 men found inside van unsolved​

It appears that at the time of disappearance, they received a tip to look in that area. Hopefully the tipster comes forward with details someday.

Click to expand...

I’m just catching up and hoping that since it isn’t very old (by cold case standards anyway) there are people that know something.