Remains Found in Connecticut Are of Woman in Her 40s

Police have worked for more than a year to identify the human remains found on the site of a former landfill in Vernon, Connecticut, last March

More than a year has passed since human remains were found on the site of a former landfill in Vernon, Connecticut, and police released new information on Tuesday that they hope will generate new leads in the case.

A local resident who was searching for scrap metal to build a sculpture stumbled upon the skull in March 2013 in the area of 126 West St., which used to be the Rockville Landfill. 

Police had just the skeleton to go on, but now say the remains are those of a white woman between 40 and 50 years old, though she could be slightly older or younger. They released a sketch on Tuesday of what she might have looked like. Police said she had a slightly narrow face with high cheekbones.

A medical student at the Quinnipiac University's Frank H. Netter School of Medicine drew the sketch based on examinations of the remains.

Lt. William Meier III, of the Vernon Police Department, said the drawing is only an approximation of what the woman looked like and might not exactly resemble the features of the person found dead.

The mystery is still unsolved because officers haven't identified the skeletal human remains, but they have released a sketch based on the woman's biological profile in the hopes that someone will recognize some of the facial features and come forward with new information.

"We're hoping that a family member, a friend, a neighbor, or someone else will recognize this person and come forward to investigators with information that will lead to the identity," he said.

Police believe the woman was between 5'-5'3" tall. Her cause of death has not been determined.

Police have ruled out the possibility that the remains might belong to one of three girls who disappeared between 1968 and 1974.

Officers planned to use dental records and DNA to cross-check the National Missing Persons Database, but there has been no match, Meier said.

Many older missing persons reports were taken before DNA technology existed and several have not been updated with DNA profiles, according to Meier.

Police have not said how long the remains were in the landfill. The case has been challenging due to the nature of the terrain and that the spread of remains made it difficult to recover.

Vernon Police will continue to work with the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, the Connecticut State Police MIssing Persons Unit and scientific experts in an effort to identify the victim.

Police said it's possible the woman was not from Connecticut or even New England.

Anyone with information on the investigation is urged to call Vernon police at 860-872-9126. Callers may remain anonymous.

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