St. Clair County sheriff Terry Surles said Friday that the remains — found Wednesday afternoon in a wooded area near Hidden Valley Drive — have been transported to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science in Huntsville. He said, however, that he is unsure when his office might be able to identify the remains.
“Right now we have no pathological opinion on it,” Surles said. “We appreciate any help; if anybody knows of anybody that’s missing, I would entertain them calling and would appreciate that very much.”
Surles said the remains most likely belong to a female with dark hair. He also said that authorities recovered an earring from the scene.
“It’s a large earring with butterflies that dangle,” he said. “That’s about all we’ve got to go on right now.”
He also said that the person likely would have been missing “within the last 2-3 months.”
“That’s the people on the scene out there, people who have seen this in the past, making their own estimates,” Surles said.
A crew of three surveyors from Odenville first discovered the remains Wednesday afternoon, in an unincorporated area near Freeze Mountain in Argo. Surles said Friday that the site where remains were discovered is near Interstate 59 and roughly 80 yards away from a residence.
Deputies, along with officials from Argo Police Department and the Alabama Bureau of Investigations, spent Wednesday night and most of Thursday investigating the scene.
At press time, Surles said the investigation has turned up “nothing concrete.”
“We’ve got some people we’re talking to, but we don’t have anybody to point a finger at right now,” he said. “If we can get the body identified, then we can go and backtrack.”
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the sheriff’s department at 205-884-6840, or 205-594-2140.
Contact Will Heath at wheath@thestclairtimes.com.
