Public's help needed to identify remains; sketch released
ECONOMY -- Investigators are hoping the public can help to identify a woman whose head was found in a wooded area.
Edinboro University professor Michelle Vitali completed a facial sketch of the woman, which was released to the public Monday.
Beaver County District Attorney Anthony Berosh said investigators have been diligently working to learn the woman’s identity and to determine how her remains ended up where they did.
The remains were found Dec. 12 in the area of Mason and Conway-Wallrose roads. Economy Police Chief Michael O’Brien said the area where the discovery was made is wooded and not heavily traveled.
The woman's head had been embalmed, and investigators have not been able to determine when she died.
The remains have been examined by Beaver County Coroner Teri Tatalovich-Rossi, pathologist Dr. James Smith, forensic anthropologist Dr. Dennis Dirkmaat from Mercyhurst College and forensic odontologist Dr. Charles Beall. They believe the woman was older than 50. She had soft curls of grayish hair and a full set of teeth.
O’Brien said information about the case has been distributed through police networks in Pennsylvania, eastern Ohio and the Mid-Atlantic region. Borough police are also working with state police to conduct an aerial search of the area. Previous ground searches with cadaver dogs have not produced any more remains.
Tatalovich-Rossi said she has also been in contact with the Pennsylvania Coroners Association in addition to the University of Pittsburgh Medical School and the Human Gifts Registry. She said if someone donates his body to science, the body is embalmed, remains intact and is sent to a medical school.
Berosh said it appears whoever removed the woman’s head had “some anatomical knowledge.”
As of now, investigators assume someone “intervened” in the process of moving the body from a funeral home to the burial site, Berosh said. “That’s the person we’re looking for,” he said.
So far, no law enforcement or cemetery owners in the area have reported any disrupted gravesites, O’Brien said.
Berosh said someone out there believes a loved one has been laid to rest and is at peace. “That is not true for some family out there,” he said.
Berosh said that until the police can identify the woman, they won’t be able to backtrack to determine what happened.
Police are asking anyone who recognizes the woman or has any information about her remains to call 724-876-0380 or email police@economyboropd.com.
This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Public's help needed to identify remains; sketch released
