posted May 19, 2008
The missing persons case of Kathleen Wrinkle, who disappeared in 1956, may finally have been solved.
On May 9 and again on Sunday, human remains were discovered in a vehicle submerged approximately 45 feet deep in Parksville Lake, Bradley County officials said.
The vehicle description, as well as personal effects, appears to match the description associated with the Bradley County missing persons case of Mrs. Wrinkle, it was stated.
Initial examination of a femur bone found in the vehicle confirms it to be a young adult female.
Positive identification of the remains is pending at the Knox County Forensic Anthropology Department.
The Bradley County Sheriff’s Office reopened the missing persons’ case last summer and since that time several attempts by a variety of agencies were made to locate the vehicle in Parksville Lake.
On May 9, a group of volunteer divers discovered the vehicle submerged in silt and recovered a femur bone inside the vehicle that was turned over to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
From that time forward the BCSO, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, the Benton Police Department, as well as the West Polk County Fire and Rescue Unit and the volunteer divers, worked together to recover additional remains and artifacts.
The exact location of the vehicle is not being disclosed as additional attempts may be made to recover other remains and artifacts, it was stated.
There is almost no visibility at the depth of the vehicle and searches of the vehicle must be conducted by hand making recovery difficult and dangerous, officials said.
Sheriff Tim Gobble said he commends Sgt. Bill Coultry, the BCSO Crime Scene Forensics Unit, the volunteer divers, Sheriff Bill Davis of the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, and other agencies "for their persistence and dedication in trying to solve this missing persons case."
Upon completion of the forensics examination additional information will be released as to the possible identity of the remains.
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