DNA IDs remains found in Warren County shed as man reported missing out of Chester County

A Warren County landowner entered an abandoned shed on his property in June to discover human remains.

An investigation involving the Pennsylvania State Police, with assistance from Mercyhurst University, would lead authorities to identify the remains in the shed as those of a man who had been reported missing out of Chester County since July 2022.

There were no signs of foul play, according to state police.

Unknown is how the man, identified by state police as 40-year-old Christopher M. Bryant, wound up in a shed across the state from where he was reported missing.

Bryant, whom state police said was identified by DNA analysis in late October, is one of three people identified through analysis in human remains investigations involving state police in the Erie region over the past 19 months. Two of the cases involved remains that were found in the spring of 2022.

Remains found in a Warren County shed

The discovery of Bryant's remains was reported to state police on the early evening of June 6 on property on Kidder Road in Freehold Township, Warren County, east of Corry.

Authorities reported at the time that the property owner discovered the remains after entering a shed, which had been abandoned and which the property owner had not entered for about a year.

State police said they were getting assistance from Dennis Dirkmaat, professor of anthropology and chair of the department of applied forensic services at Mercyhurst University, and planned to use DNA and other techniques, such as dental records, to try and identify the body. Investigators also planned to review missing persons reports, according to state police.

State police in Corry, in a recent news release, stated that DNA analysis identified the remains on Oct. 24 as Bryant, who had been listed as a missing person out of state police Troop J in Avondale, Chester County, since July 2022.

Remains found in suspected homeless camp

The oldest case involving the discovery of human remains was launched on March 25, 2022, when authorities were called to a wooded area west of Peach Street in the 8100 block in Summit Township. State police reported at the time that a homeless man had discovered the remains and reported it.

Investigators said state police had received calls about suspected homeless people gathering in a parking lot in the area where the remains were found, and when troopers went into the wooded area they found what appeared to be a homeless encampment, although there was no evidence of recent activity there.

State police and Erie County Coroner Lyell Cook reported after the discovery that the remains appeared to have been in the area for some time. Dirkmaat came to the scene, confirmed the remains were human and did a complete review of the remains, authorities reported at the time.

Cook said Wednesday that the remains were eventually identified as Timothy Wright, 55, of Erie, whom Cook said was homeless. The coroner said the cause of death was unable to be determined, but there was no evidence of trauma and he ruled the death as natural.

According to Cook, there was evidence found with Wright's body that helped in the identification.

Remains found in Venango County park

Less than a month after the discovery in Summit Township, a man fishing along Oil Creek in Oil Creek State Park in Venango County discovered human remains along the creek bank, authorities reported.

According to state police, the man took photos of the remains and went to the Titusville Police Department, and Titusville police then contacted state police. The photos were sent to Dirkmaat, who confirmed the remains appeared to be human. Officials from Mercyhurst University went to the park the next day and collected the remains, state police reported at the time.

Dustin LeGoullon, Titusville's public safety commissioner, said Thursday that the remains were eventually identified as Bradley White, 45, a Titusville man who was reported missing in November 2018.

Titusville police, in conjunction with the state police, continue to investigate, LeGoullon said.

Contact Tim Hahn at thahn@timesnews.com. Follow him on X @ETNhahn.

This article originally appeared on Erie Times-News: State police use DNA to ID remains found in Warren County shed in June