By Sharyn L. Decker
Lewis County Sirens news reporter
The partial human skull found near Mineral on Saturday appears to be from an adult, but detectives don’t know if it belongs to a male or a female, the Lewis County Sheriff’s Office said this afternoon.
They’re hopeful there is enough DNA to help identity the individual, Chief Deputy Stacy Brown said this afternoon.
It was found by a hiker in a wooded area and will be sent to a forensic pathologist for further examination.
“We really don’t know how long its been out there,” Brown said. “Weather conditions affect that, and we’re not experts.”
The find was reported Saturday and detectives, along with two dogs, have searched the area for potential evidence, according to Brown. It was in a brushy area on the ground, she said.
Brown said she expects members of Lewis County Search and Rescue to go out there and help look sometime in the next couple of weeks.
“We did find other evidence, or potential evidence at the scene,” she said, without specifying what it was.
The sheriff’s office isn’t saying how much of the skull was recovered or even a location more specific than near Mineral.
“Until we know what we have and what kind of an investigation we’re looking at, we’re not releasing a lot,” Brown said.
Its too early to consider what missing persons it could match up to, according to Brown. She did say they don’t have any indication its Kayla Croft-Payne, who vanished almost a year ago at age 18.
Mineral is along state Route 7, near where the Lewis, Pierce and Thurston county lines meet.
Besides Croft-Payne, who was living in the Chehalis area when she disappeared, the sheriff’s office lists two other missing persons on its web site.
Henri W. Maillard, 20, disappeared in July 1994 after a drive up the Skate Creek Road near Packwood with a friend, according to the sheriff’s office.
Delmar W. Sample, a 53-year-old pharmacist from Onalaska, failed to report to work in Chehalis in March 2005. Sample’s truck was found near Lake Quinault on the Olympic Peninsula.
Tags: By Sharyn L. Decker, news reporter
THE FBI NEEDS TO BE CONTACTED AND INVOLVED. it could be a wild animal, serial killer, or a set up, delmar was a pharmacists for walmart…i think there was foul play due to the vehicle, missing bike and car keys and wallet found in vehicle. I wonder if he had a life insurance policy and if anyone would have benefitted from his death.
I am a registered nurse and took care of delmar’s father and his mother was still searching online for her son, dalmar w sample missing since 2005. they were in their 90s at that time, and they only had two sons and one died of cancer. so it was important for them to find their missing son, delmar sample. they were wonderful, good hearted people. the officers owe it to delmars parents to give them more information. have they contacted the FBI? to find out what happened to these individuals and report the facts and the truth so family members can have closure and peace. rhonda j. simmons-nelson RN
Profilers inc: 5 Sets of Human Remains have been Recovered in Lewis County since July. Profile shows a Serial Killer Roving Unchecked in that County.
Profilers inc. Make no Mistake about it. The Recent Find of Human Remains in Morton r Certainly the Work of 1 Serial Killer, & r most Likely Related, Contrary 2 what the Police r saying.
Profilers inc: Any Pathologist who’s not Dumb as a Box of Rocks can make an Initial Determination on a Human Skull’s Gender.