Help Sought in Identifying Remains

The Kansas Bureau of Investigation and the Osage County Sheriff’s Office have requested the public’s help in identifying the remains of a woman found Aug. 25 at Melvern Lake. It is believed the woman was the victim of a homicide.

Forensic anthropology experts from the Washburn University Anthropology Department assisted law enforcement in studying the remains. They reported that the deceased individual is female, and likely Hispanic, however, White cannot be ruled out. They provided a likely age range between 35 and 50 years of age, but also offered a broader range of 30 to 65 years of age. She was believed to have been 5-foot-2 inches to 5-foot-8 inches, but could potentially also be between 5-foot-1 inches to 5-foot-9 inches. The report suggested that she was killed and has been at the scene since sometime between late Fall 2016 and July 2017, with a narrower estimate of April 2017 to July 2017.

KBI agents and Osage County Sheriff’s deputies are also releasing information about the woman’s clothing and jewelry to hopefully aid in identifying the victim. Her shirt size was small, and the brand “No Boundaries.” Her pants size was 32×30, and the brand “Helix.” Her bra size was 44 and the brand “Fruit of the Loom.” She was wearing several items of jewelry which include: a silver ring that spells “love” in cursive writing, a gold or bronze ring with a red stone, a silver bangle bracelet, and gold or bronze framed eyeglasses.

(CLICK JEWELRY PHOTOS TO ENLARGE)

Anyone who believes they can help to identify this woman, or who has information about this crime, is asked to contact the Osage County Sheriff’s Office at 785-828-3121 or the KBI at 1-800-KS-CRIME.