Anthopology Students Help Investigate Body Found at Resort
Suncadia Body Dig Site
Police investigating the body found at Cle Elum's Suncadia Resort yesterday are getting help from a unique source, Central Washington University anthropology students. Officers say the students may be able to find evidence that officers might miss.
People in Cle Elum have a lot of questions over how a woman's body ended up in a shallow grave at the Suncadia Resort.
"I'm very curious to see what they figure out, and hopefully it's nothing too crazy," says Carmen Murray of Cle Elum.
A backhoe operator discovered the skeletal remains Monday morning. Police say the body may have been there since at least 2002, because that's when contstruction on the resort made the area accessible. The Kittitas County Sheriff's office called in anthropology students from Central Washington University to look for bones and other clues. The students may be able to find what officers might miss.
"Sometimes a bone, if it's off by itself, doesn't look like a bone, we're used to bone structure being intact," says Undersheriff Clayton Myers.
The King County medical examiner is also helping with the investigation. When the body is removed, the bones, clothing and anything else found at the scene will be taken to the state crime lab for examination. Undersheriff Myers says it takes a lot of outside experts to solve cases.
"We're not trained in all things, we're not chemists, we're not scientists, we have the ability to reach out to those people that are experts in their field," says Myers.
And once those experts find the answers, law enforcement can begin solving the puzzle of this case.
"I hope they find out who put that body there and why, and that person has to deal with that, maybe they're gone too, who knows," says Tom Ballard of Cle Elum.
Police are still not calling the area where the body was found a crime scene. They hope examining missing persons cases may help with identification of the body.