Skeleton found on bypass work site
By Steve Herring
Published in News on October 4, 2012 1:46 PM
Little information has come to light concerning skeletal remains that were unearthed Sept. 15 by a construction crew working on the new U.S. 70 Bypass near Salem Church Road.
The discovery temporarily halted the work until the Wayne County Sheriff's Office could be contacted.
The area was cordoned off and work was allowed to resume.
No report was filed by the Sheriff's Office. Officials with the Sheriff's Office could not be reached for comment prior to press time this morning.
"They felt like it was not recent and (the deputies) took the skeleton," said Wendi Johnson, state Department of Transportation division construction engineer. "As far as I know it is at the state lab."
The idea was that it might have been an old unmarked grave, she said.
However, Sharon Artis, case manager supervisor for the state Medical Examiner's Office, said Wednesday that she had no reports that the remains had been sent to that office.
On Sept. 17, DOT archaeologist Paul Mohler examined the area to ensure there were no other remains.
Mohler said he did not see the remains that had been removed by the Sheriff's Office prior to his arrival.