Tim Ryan, tryan@shawanoleader.com
Investigators were contacting family members in area missing persons cases this week, gathering information they hope could help identify human remains discovered in the town of Richmond over the weekend.
The State Crime Lab in Madison conducted a forensic examination and autopsy Monday, but, as of late Tuesday afternoon, authorities had not identified the remains.
Four unsolved missing persons cases in the region going back to 2009 could be in play in this case, and another two dating back to 1998. There is no official indication, however, that the person was even from this area.
The remains were discovered about 5:30 p.m. Saturday by a group of young adults along the south side of Peach Road near County Road MMM.
Shawano County Sheriff Randy Wright said the remains were not buried or covered in any way. They were more or less “out in the open,” he said, but not visible from the road.
Wright would not rule out a connection to any of the missing persons cases.
“Everything is in play,” he said.
The Sheriff’s Department has not confirmed the remains were of a female, but Wright cited a number of open missing persons cases involving women.
They include Heather Szekeres, 32, of Shawano, who went missing in June. That case was being investigated by the Shawano Police Department.
Police Capt. Jeff Heffernon said the case remains “ongoing and active.”
Police provided assistance at the recovery of the remains Saturday night and into Sunday morning, but Heffernon said he could not answer whether there was any connection to the Szekeres case.
Other missing persons cases in the region include Victoria Prokopovitz, 60, of Pittsfield, missing since April 2013; Stephanie Low, 25, of Wausau, missing since October 2010; Kayla Berg, 20, of Antigo, missing since August 2009; Amber Wilde, 34, of Green Bay, missing since September 1998; and Carmen Owens, 56, of Shawano, missing since 1998.
The ages listed are the ages those persons would be today, according to the Department of Justice, which publishes a list of missing persons in the state.
Wright said he did not want to speculate on how long the remains had been there.
Wright also said Tuesday afternoon he was not ready to rule out a connection to any of the missing persons cases.
“I’m not closing out anything,” he said.
Information being gathered by investigators from family members included things such as descriptions of clothes and jewelry the missing person might have owned or been wearing.
Authorities were also seeking dental records in the missing person cases.
“We’re looking at whatever we can find,” Wright said.
The case is being handled as a homicide investigation, which, Wright said, was normal procedure under the circumstances, at least until a cause of death is determined.
“You handle it as a possible homicide and you go from there,” Wright said.