Tips on remains flood police

ELYRIA — Lorain County Sheriff’s detectives have received roughly 30 new tips about the possible identity of a woman whose skeletal remains were found in Huntington Township last month since Thursday’s release of photos of items found with the body.

Sgt. Randal Koubeck said some of the tips, which came from as far away as Toledo, mirrored earlier information they’d received about missing women, but others were fresh leads that investigators already have begun running down.

“We’re going through them as we can,” he said.

A property owner found the remains about 40 or 50 feet from the west side of state Route 58 near the Ashland County line March 22 while checking to see if there was any property damage from an unrelated car crash. Deputies have said the area was overgrown and only mowed once a year, which meant the property owner wouldn’t have seen the body over the years.

Chief Deputy Coroner Frank Miller said during a news conference Thursday that the woman’s body could have been on the site anywhere from two to 20 years, based on the condition of the remains when they were discovered. He said she was likely on the surface or in a shallow grave.

So far, an anthropological analysis has determined that the woman was white and stood between 4 feet, 8 inches and 5 feet, 5 inches tall, Miller said. She probably was in her late teens to early 30s when she died.

The woman had all of her teeth, which were crowded together, an indication that she hadn’t had any orthodontic work done during her lifetime.

The woman’s cause of death has yet to be determined, but there were no obvious signs of injury on the remains. Miller said DNA testing has not yet been done.

The woman was wearing a spaghetti-strapped top or short dress and a loose-knit, short-waisted, capped-sleeve overlay with a single button, deputies have said. She also had a sequin-and-pearl underwire bra with a cup size of 38 B and matching panties sold by Victoria’s Secret.

Investigators also found a white-faced Peugeot watch with a leather band, a metal wrist bangle, artificial nails with white tips and white flower patterns and a shiny center stone, a metal belt buckle with a pink flower pattern and a stud earring.

Detectives are checking with the manufacturers of the items that can be traced to a particular brand to see when they were sold. For instance, the model of watch found with the woman’s remains has been on the market for about 30 years.

Anyone with information on the woman’s identity is asked to call detectives at (440) 329-3742.