Experts search Garfield orchard for details on Aurora woman’s slaying
Published: Monday, October 26, 2009 9:31 PM MDT
AURORA | Authorities in Garfield County this week called in forensic experts to search an apple orchard where the dismembered body of an Aurora woman was found in June.
Janine Ann Johler, 38, was found in early June in the rural area near Canyon Creek and Interstate 70, west of Glenwood Springs.
The Garfield County sheriff’s office brought in forensic experts from NecroSearch International to search the area this weekend, hoping to find clues about the grisly slaying.
Deputy Tanny McGinnis, a spokeswoman for the Garfield County sheriff’s office, said investigators have been working with NecroSearch volunteers since Johler’s body was discovered this summer.
But because of scheduling issues, the NecroSearch team couldn’t search the field until this weekend, she said.
Investigators wanted to search the area before winter set in, she said.
“The reality was snow is going to start flying soon,” she said.
According to NecroSearch’s website, the organization is made up of scientists specializing in a variety of fields — including anthropology, archaeology and geology — who specialize in searching for forensic evidence, particularly for buried bodies.
McGinnis said the weekend’s search was fruitful, but she declined to say what exactly crews found while canvassing the area.
“We did learn some things this weekend that are really going to move us in some additional directions,” she said.
http://www.aurorasentinel.com/articles/2009/10/26/news/metro_aurora/doc4ae66945ac404204622340.txt