By: Tammy Curtis with Police documents
Human remains found on March 19 in Sharp County near Cougar Road have been sent to the state crime lab for identification.
Sharp County Sheriff Shane Russell said a call came into Sharp County Central Dispatch around 9:30 a.m on March 19. Lt. Bryce Trivitt and Lt. Cham Buchanan responded to the scene near the Independence County line in the extreme southern part of the county.
Complainant Ben Karns sent photos to Trivitt after he located a human skull. Karns told Trivitt he had burned off his property on March 1 and, when walking it on March 19, discovered the skull near a creek. A portion of the skull showed signs of burns, confirming Karn’s burning of the property.
Buchanan and Trivitt also located a vertebrae close to a fallen limb near where the skull was located. A grocery store receipt was also discovered near the bones. All items were processed and packaged as evidence at the scene.
Later, Sheriff Russell, Sharp County Coroner Renee Clay-Circle, and Arkansas State Police Special Agent Wendall Jines also helped search for additional bones; none were found. Trivitt packaged the items and transported them to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory for analysis and hopeful identification.
On March 21, Triitt was again dispatched to the location. He and Sharp County Sgt. Hunter Taylor responded, and additional bones were collected.
Due to the discovery of additional bones, Buchanan requested the assistance of Blake Bristow and his Blue Streak K9 unit to help with possible further detection of human remains. On March 26, an additional search was conducted with members of Blue Streak K9. Several bones were recovered, photographed and collected by Sharp County Captain Greg Stewart.
The remains were transported to the Arkansas State Crime Laboratory. We will continue to update this story as details and a possible identification is made.
