The Collier County Sheriff’s Office is awaiting DNA test results for the human bones that were recently found in Naples.
Just over two weeks ago, on the morning of May 22, a construction worker was digging a line for Florida Power & Light on Daniels Road in Naples when the worker found a pile of bones.
The bones “appeared to be human remains that have been buried for some time,” a sheriff’s deputy reported upon arrival to the scene.
According to an incident report, the bones found appeared to include multiple jaw fragments with intact teeth, a femur bone and possible ribs and skull fragments.
It has not yet been determined if the bones belonged to one or more people, to an adult or child or to a male or female.
The Collier County Sheriff’s Office has since sent the bones to a laboratory for DNA testing.
It must first be determined whether the bones are male or female. The DNA will then be entered into the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Detectives will then be able to compare the information with local cases, according to the Collier County Sheriff’s Office.
When DNA test results will be made available to local authorities is also uncertain.
There are approximately 114 active missing persons cases in Collier County, according to the National Missing and Unidentified Persons System. Some of these missing Collier County individuals were last seen as long as 40-plus years ago.
Two renowned unsolved missing persons cases specific to Collier County are that of Terrance Williams, who was last seen in January 2004, and Felipe Santos, who was last seen in October 2003.
A former Collier County Sheriff’s Office deputy was the last person to see both of these men before they disappeared. The bones found recently were just a few miles from where the two missing men were last seen.
Although there is no longer an active crime scene at the site where the bones were found, this is an ongoing investigation and information about the identity of the individual to whom the bones belonged to will be released as it becomes available.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Human remains found in Naples sent for DNA testing, identity of bones to be determined
Reporting by Tayeba Hussein, Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
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