Identified! OR - Molalla, UnkSex&Race, UP77090, UnkAge, Weyerhaeuser forest, Jan 2021 - Kenneth Lee Bell

[Romulus]

Unidentified Person / NamUs #UP77090
Unsure, Uncertain

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)

Circumstances of Recovery: On January 8, 2021, human skeletal remains were found on a privately owned, Weyerhaeuser forest logging road that runs nearly adjacent to the Molalla River, approximately 4 miles southeast of the center of the city of Molalla. The hillside that the remains are discovered on are at a nearly 45-degree angle, and are fire damaged from a large conflagration that burned through the area in September of 2020.

 

[Susikatze]

I suspect it is a male. 9.5 is borderline, can be a smaller male size and a very large female size, which happens, but is unusual. The ring is also more of a mens ring.

 

[Laughing]

White shoes??? Forest fire???

Were the remains on the 45 degree hillside before the fire? Did a person succumb to the fire? Were the remains skeletonized before or during the fire?

I expect they know, & could include that information.

 

[Susikatze]

I assume they were shallowly buried or dumped there before the fire. Otherwise they would not mention the fire.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Timber crew finds skeletal human remains near Molalla, Oregon | kgw.com


A Weyerhauser tree planting crew found human remains in a remote area southeast of Molalla.

The Clackamas County Sheriff's Office says the remains were there before the Labor Day wildfires.

The remains included a partial human skull. They also found a white low-top style canvas athletic shoe, size 9.5, and a dark gray metal ring with a squared red stone.

The remains were on a steep slope in a ravine.

Clackamas County Search and Rescue volunteers also responded to the scene to run rope lines down the hill.

The Oregon State Forensic Anthropologist is working to identify the remains.
Human Remains Found Southeast Of Molalla | JAM'N 107.5 | Portland Local News

 

[imstilla.grandma]

Deputies, detectives and forensic specialists responded to the scene, as did the Clackamas County Medical Examiner’s Office and Oregon State Police Crime Scene Investigators (CSI). Clackamas County Search and Rescue (CSAR) volunteers also responded due to the steep terrain.

Attached Media Files:
RopeCrewDescends.JPG ,
MedicalExaminerTruck.JPG ,
InvestigationScene4.JPG ,
InvestigationScene3.JPG ,
InvestigationScene2.JPG ,
InvestigationScene1.JPG ,
CrewsPrepareToDescend2.JPG ,
CrewsPrepareToDescend1.JPG , Photo of Ring

Skeletal remains found near Molalla, homicide investigation underway | KOIN.com

 

[victoriarobinson642]

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) (Not super confident, based solely on the circumstances, but he is mentioned to have been wearing low top shoes)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) (Timeline seems like a bit of a stretch.)
From a rough search of people missing nearby.

 

[annemc2]

I assume they were shallowly buried or dumped there before the fire. Otherwise they would not mention the fire.

You were right! In the KOIN article linked above it says "The remains predate the wildfires that swept through that area in September".

 

[Otterly]

I could be wrong, but that ring has a late 70s/early 80s look to it. Maybe this could be quite an old case.

 

[imstilla.grandma]

If anyone has helpful information on the case, they are asked to call the sheriff’s office tip line at 503-723-4949 or to use the email form at Tip Sheet | Clackamas County. “Please reference CCSO Case #21-000584.”
Homicide detectives work to ID remains found outside Molalla

The recovered skeletal remains are now with Dr. Nici Vance, state forensic anthropologist with the Oregon State Police, for detailed analysis.

Tips sought: Reference CCSO Case No. 21-000584. Anyone with information on the human remains found southeast of Molalla is urged to contact the Sheriff's Office Tip Line by phone at 503-723-4949 or by using the online email form at clackamas.us/sheriff/tip.

Detectives: Skeleton found by tree planters near Molalla

 

[Otterly]

I could be wrong, but that ring has a late 70s/early 80s look to it. Maybe this could be quite an old case.

Going through NAMUS I found a few missing persons who were last seen/vehicles found near Molalla (and not already mentioned in previous posts).

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) James T. Dimick November 22, 1989 - Missing from Portland, but his vehicle "was recovered in a remote area of Clackamas County". It would be nice to know where his vehicle was found.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) Michael Ray Simmons August 23, 1995 - Van found on Crooked Finger Rd in Scott Mills which is a town less than 10 miles away from Molalla.

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs) Cullen Origen Jones February 12, 1998 - Missing from Keizer, but went to and belongings found at Bagby Hot Springs in Mt Hood National Forest, which based on google maps appears to be around 20 miles from Molalla. Interestingly Bagby Hot Springs is Southeast of Molalla, and the remains were found "approximately 4 miles southeast of the center of the city of Molalla".

The National Missing and Unidentified Persons System (NamUs)
I'm assuming the remains are male due to the ring size and design but if they turn out to be female Valerie Anne Pryor is an obvious possible match. On Feburary 2, 1989 she walked out of her home in Colton, about 5 miles from Molalla, and was never seen again.

 

[Romulus]

I could be wrong, but that ring has a late 70s/early 80s look to it. Maybe this could be quite an old case.

Well you could establish where that type of ring comes from, where it was produced or manufactured and if it's for men or women, I think it's a good starting point.

 

[JMapes]

Well, any and all guesses I may have had went right out the window when I saw the
Round (circular) white, red and black enamel "swastika" lapel pin found Near the Body listed on the NamUs profile.

My best guess is that whoever chose this location to dispose of the body figured that the body would never be found in this dense vegetation off a logging road. The discovery was only made because the wildfires destroyed everything else.

 

[victoriarobinson642]

NAMUS also lists an "Imperial Savings" writing pen. Imperial Savings has been defunct since the early 2000s to my knowledge, so my guess is that this wasn't a super recent death.

 

[ElementalLaura]

Police sent the skull and mandible to the Smithsonian Institute in Washington, D.C., for an anthropological exam, which concluded (based on skull measurements and the fact that it was found in Oregon) that the person who died was likely African American. The Smithsonian provided a line art drawing of what he may have looked like.

But police had no leads. No one had been reported missing. For decades the bones sat in a box at the Oregon State Police medical examiner’s office in Clackamas.

Based on the year he was found and the numerical filing system of the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, he became John Doe 79-1862.
...
Now, 42 years after he was first discovered, John Doe 79-1862 has a name.

<snipped for focus>

https://www.officer.com/tactical/sw...ld-cases-may-be-solved-with-genetic-genealogy

@imstilla.grandma, was this posted in the correct thread?

 

[imstilla.grandma]

@imstilla.grandma, was this posted in the correct thread?

Possibly not.I’m confused. I also made a mistake in another thread and was called out. I apologize to members. My thoughts seem scrambled. I’m sorry.

 

[ElementalLaura]

No worries, but I will delete the post in this thread since it’s confusing (to me, anyway!)

 

[Amber.T]

First time posting on web sleuths.
Oregon Authorities Identify dated remains found by Timber Crew in Forest as Kenneth Bell CCSO: Molalla remains belong to man reported missing in 1979 | KOIN.com

 

[Vern]

Welcome!!

 

[JMapes]

Here's the thread for this UID (now ID'd) for more discussion. I'll nudge the mods to merge these two (if possible!)

OR - OR - Molalla, UnkSex&Race, UP77090, UnkAge, in Weyerhaeuser forest logging road, ring stone, Jan'21