14 DAY TRIAL // Officials in Corning have come across human remains possibly dating back to the 1970s. An inquiry revealed that the skeleton belonged to a woman, and missing persons reports are currently being checked for any information on the remains.
“We received a tip that human remains could be found at that location. [...] We conducted a search and found what appears to be the skeleton of female adult buried at that site,” Tehama County sheriff’s Lt. Dave Greer tells the Corning Observer.
Assistant Sheriff Phil Johnston mentions that a tip about the remains being buried at 23000 block of Loleta Ave came in two days ago.
A team including detectives and university forensic anthropologists from Chico State performed the digging operation on Saturday, June 22. It took 15 hours to excavate the burial site, Detective Rob Brinton explains.
“The ground is very hard, very compact, the students and professors likened it to concrete and it took approximately 15 hours for the excavation,” Brinton recalls for KRCRTV.
The death has been dubbed “suspicious in nature” by detectives on site, but an investigation is underway by the Anthropology Department of California State University, sheriff’s Lt. Greer mentions.
“The remains did not appear to have been encased in anything before it was buried,” Greer describes the burial site.
The woman was buried in a 2-foot (60 cm) deep grave and pieces of clothing have been found in the grave. Detectives might have a clue about the identity of the woman, but they are not yet releasing any details.
A posthumous examination should give information on the cause of death. The university will present results on their inquiry in a week or two.
“We are checking on missing persons reports from the 1970s,” Brinton adds.