Resolved WY - Polecat Bench, mystery grave, cross w/MORGAN '88' & '03', two rings, Oct'19 - Animal remains

[Proud Country Gal]

OK I looked and didn't see this listed on WS anywhere and don't really know which area it goes in so ......

PARK COUNTY, Wyo. (Release) The Park County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information on a possible grave site discovered on private property in the Polecat Bench area off of Wyoming Highway 294. The site was discovered on August 12, 2019 by the current property owner.

The possible grave has sandstone rocks placed approximately 6’ in length with a white homemade metal cross ......


Sheriff's office seeks information on mystery grave in northern Wyoming

 

[Gardener1850]

From the link:
"The possible grave has sandstone rocks placed approximately 6’ in length with a white homemade metal cross as a marker. The grave appears to have been created some time ago, due to animals burrowing into the stones. Cut into the cross is the name “MORGAN” with the numerals “88” cut into the top of the cross on the left side and “03” on the right side."

Sheriff's office seeks information on mystery grave in northern Wyoming

BBM. The first thing I did is search for missing children named Morgan who were born in 1988.

Morgan Nick was abducted from Arkansas in 1995:
Morgan Chauntel Nick – The Charley Project
AR - AR - Morgan Nick, 6, Alma, 9 June 1995
Could she have been held captive until 2003 and then buried there?

 

[gregjrichards]

The photo of the grave is chilling. It is interesting there is no second name. Is the distance from Arkansas to Wyoming about 1,000 miles?

I posted this in Morgan’s thread and posted it here so I can follow the thread.

 

[Gardener1850]

Another idea-- this could be the remains of a missing child, but the name on the cross might not be the child's birth name. An abductor might have given the child a different name. Here are some more cases of missing children born in 1988 and missing prior to 2004:

Bryce Herda
WA - WA - Bryce Herda, 6, Neah Bay, 9 April 1995

Michelle Delfi-Feliciano
Puerto Rico - Michelle Delfi-Feliciano, 4, Santa Isabel, 2 May 1992

Travis Zwieg
CA - CA - Travis Zwieg, 3, Pinyon Pines, 10 March 1991

Karen Grajeda
AZ - AZ - Karen Grajeda, 7, Tucson, 11 Jan 1996

Andrew Thompson
IL - IL - Everett, Lydia, Everett Jr, & Andrew Thompson, Chicago, 5 July 1996

Kreneice Jones
MS - MS - Kreneice Jones, 3, & Lamoine Allen, 2, Woodville, 10 May 1992

Randi Layton Evers
NV - NV - Randi Layton Evers, 3, Las Vegas, 16 Feb 1992

Christina Ann Battin
CA - Christina Ann Battin 14 missing from Thousand Palms, California 2003

Flora Torralva
CA - CA - Flora Torralva, 15, Oxnard, 26 July 2003

Justin Richardson
AZ - AZ - Justin Richardson, 13, Grand Canyon, 2 July 2001

Laura Ayala
TX - TX - Laura Ayala, 13, Houston, 10 March 2002

Eric 'Nick' Pyles
PA - PA - Eric 'Nick' Pyles, 12, Union Township, 12 Dec 2000

 

[Gardener1850]

The Park County Sheriff’s Office is seeking information on a possible gravesite discovered on private property in the Polecat Bench area off of WYO 294.

The site was discovered Aug. 12 by the current property owner.

Information sought on possible gravesite in Polecat Bench area

 

[TxMother67]

How long has the current property owner lived there?

 

[Auntie Cipation]

I hope the property owner has checked with whoever owned the land in 2003.

My guess, without knowing the context of how close the grave is to buildings, road, etc, is that this is a horse buried there.

Or perhaps a big dog.

I see the article says dogs may have scented human remains. I don't know how certain that is. I guess we'll have to wait and see.

 

[gregjrichards]

Thinking hypothetically would a paedophile and murderer really bury a victim on private land with a cross that had a victim’s name on it? Why not just bury the victim on an unmarked grave on public ground so the person would be unlikely to be discovered or would they want to give the victim some dignity after what they had done? Another possibility is that they may have wanted the victim to be discovered. I really hope LE can figure out who is in the grave it must have been exhumed by now.

 

[Gardener1850]

Thinking hypothetically would a paedophile and murderer really bury a victim on private land with a cross that had a victim’s name on it? Why not just bury the victim on an unmarked grave on public ground so the person would be unlikely to be discovered or would they want to give the victim some dignity after what they had done? Another possibility is that they may have wanted the victim to be discovered. I really hope LE can figure out who is in the grave it must have been exhumed by now.

It would be a rare case where a victim like that was given a grave marker like this but I can see it happening. The evil couple who kidnapped Elizabeth Smart had their own made up religion and told Elizabeth she was to be the man's "wife". They were completely insane IMO and used "God" as their justification for everything illegal that they wanted to do. Back to this case-- I find it disconcerting that there are rings attached to the cross-- a women's size and a man's size as if they are wedding rings. But if those numbers are dates (1988 to 2003), and accurate, then the person in the grave was only about 15 years old. Maybe this is the victim of some cult where they are forced to marry young? If they are an illegal cult (i.e. polygamous) then they may be living under the radar on private land and may take care of their own burials. We don't know the land owner history and they have not given us enough info to pinpoint the location of the grave. The current owner could have recently bought the property or this may be an area so remote no one goes there very often. Large remote tracks of land that no one checks on can have "squatters" who are survivalist types. But someone would have needed access to some tools to create that cross. I wonder if there are any houses or remote buildings near the grave where someone could have once lived?

MOO.

 

[musicaljoke]

'Morgan' could be either a first name or a last name. '88' could be a birth year, or the age of the deceased. '03' likely refers to a year, birth or death.

ETA, '03' must be year of death if 88 is either the year of birth, or the age.

A person who buries a body in this way isn't following conventional ways, so it leaves the name and numbers open to a few options.

 

[Gardener1850]

The Sheriff's Office post has a lot of comments on it: Park County Sheriff's Office

 

[Gardener1850]

"Anyone having any information on this possible grave site is asked to contact the Park County Sheriff’s Office at 307-754-8700 or 307-527-8700. You can also private message us through this Facebook page."

Legal resources online say it is not illegal to bury a human body on private land in Wyoming, but local jurisdictions may have some restrictions.

Wyoming sheriff's office seeks information on possible grave site

 

[Blurgle]

Are we sure it's 1988 and 2003, and not 1888 and 1903?

I mean, this is the kind of thing you see in the bush.

 

[Gardener1850]

In addition to the name Morgan, the cross bears two sets of numerals: an 88 on the left side and an 03 on the right side. It’s unknown as to whether those numbers reflect years of birth and death, Mathess said. No obituaries in the Powell Tribune’s archives appear to match that information.

A necklace chain attached to the cross holds one large ring, apparently made for a male, and other rings, possibly designed for a female, Mathess said.

“The rings were very tarnished due to being exposed to the elements,” he said in the release.

Similarly, Mathess said that “the grave appears to have been created some time ago, due to animals burrowing into the stones.”

Under Wyoming law, it is legal to bury a person on private property — if you own the land. Additionally, “you must take the human remains with you when you vacate the property,” Mathess said. It’s also legal to bury a pet or animal on your own property, he said, though in that case, you don’t have to remove the remains when you sell the land.

The gravesite isn't the only out-of-place item to be reported on Polecat Bench in recent months; a Powell resident recently came across multiple swatiskas laid out with rocks on the bench overlooking Powell. He said he reported the "despicable signs of hate" to the sheriff's office.

Information sought about possible grave on Polecat Bench

BBM.

 

[Blurgle]

Also, are we sure this is a human grave?

 

[Gardener1850]

Also, are we sure this is a human grave?

Cadaver dogs alerted on the grave. They can tell the difference between animal and human remains
and my understanding is that they would not alert on animal remains.

@Trackergd or @K9Enzo may be able to explain more on how the dogs work and how accurate the dogs are if they alert on a grave.

 

[Gardener1850]

Are we sure it's 1988 and 2003, and not 1888 and 1903?

I mean, this is the kind of thing you see in the bush.

If it was that old then I would not expect to see any paint left on the cross. It would mean someone has been keeping it maintained for several generations. That type of maintenance happens with family graves on family land. But if that were the case here then I would expect it to be well known to the land owners whose grave it was. MOO.

ETA: Here's an example of an abandoned cemetery with a metal cross where the last burial was in 1949-- note how rusted the metal cross is: Glace Bay man vows to try to resurrect headstones in abandoned cemetery | Cape Breton Post
While it's a completely different location geographically, I would expect the same type of corrosion on a metal cross that is over a century old. I wonder if forensics can determine when/how the metal was made?

MOO.

 

[Pseudonymph]

Occam’s Razor says to me that this is a dog or a horse. No last name, appropriate lifespan for an animal, and the fact that Morgan is actually a breed of horse. (Not that you would necessarily name your Morgan horse Morgan, but you might.)

Cadaver dogs can be wrong.

 

[Betty P]

If it was that old then I would not expect to see any paint left on the cross. It would mean someone has been keeping it maintained for several generations. That type of maintenance happens with family graves on family land. But if that were the case here then I would expect it to be well known to the land owners whose grave it was. MOO.

I was thinking the same thing, an old grave maintained by family. But the necklace with rings doesn't fit, JMO. Usually people will make a new marker, landscape around the grave, leave flowers, flags on Memorial Day, coins, etc. but I doubt anyone would hang antique family heirloom jewelry out in the weather and sun. Not for an old grave, anyway. IDK.

I did a quick check at Ancestry.com. There were many people with the last name of Morgan who lived in Park County, WY over the years, even in the old days. IIRC, its a Welsh name and the families could have originated from immigrants who came to WY to work on building railroads or working in mines.

It wouldn't be unusual for this to be an old family plot belonging to the people who previously owned the land. If family members remained in touch with their history, they could have put a new marker on the grave. If so, there are probably other unmarked graves in the vicinity.

 

[Gardener1850]

Occam’s Razor says to me that this is a dog or a horse. No last name, appropriate lifespan for an animal, and the fact that Morgan is actually a breed of horse. (Not that you would necessarily name your Morgan horse Morgan, but you might.)

Cadaver dogs can be wrong.

I'm not saying you are wrong, but why would someone put a necklace with two different sized rings on the grave marker for their deceased pet or horse?