Forrest Co. sheriff hopes rings will help public identify remains

FORREST COUNTY, Miss. (WDAM) - The Forrest County Sheriff’s Office hopes that new developments in the investigation of remains found near Camp Shelby will lead investigators closer to making an identification.

Conservation officers from the Mississippi Department of Wildlife, Fisheries and Parks found the human skeletal remains on Oct. 20 after responding to reports of possible game-related illegal activity on the north end of Camp Shelby Joint Forces Training Center’s boundary line.

Since the discovery, the FCSO has worked with the University of Southern Mississippi Anthropology Department and Army officials to investigate the remains.

”We did find two rings and we we’re exploring some leads before we released them to the public but unfortunately those have panned out and are not substantiated,” said David Ward FCSO lieutenant in the Criminal Investigation Division. “The next step is now to get the DNA samples from the remains and to start checking it through the national database, and other various databases with DNA. That’s the next step and of course the dental records we are exploring that.”

The sheriff’s office said that preliminary findings show that the remains were there for about three to five years.

Officials also released photos of two rings that were found in close proximity to the bones, hoping someone in the public might recognize them.

A certified jeweler verified - due to the cut of the stones and the setting - that the diamonds are real, and the ring is probably vintage. The band is silver.

Anyone with information as to the identification of the person to whom these rings belonged should contact the FCSO at 601-544-7800 or call Crimestoppers at 601-582-STOP with any further information.

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