Found Deceased AR - Rodney Letterman, 33, Devil's Den, West Fork, 28 Aug 2017

[tellmetrue]

Remains aren't always found at the site of death. They may move (what archeologists and forensic anthropologists call "post-depositional position change) due to wind, rain, snow, falling trees, or the gravitational effects of sloping terrain. Even more likely - wild animals often scatter remains. Since only the skull was found it could be it was carried there by an animal and that is not the site of his death.

Good info, thanks. But more than the skull was found. From the last article: "...investigators responded to the park and were escorted to an area located off one of the trails where more human remains were discovered. " I suppose someone or an animal could have moved the entire body to its final resting place, or, the body has remained where it was when the person died.

 

[GraceG]

Good info, thanks. But more than the skull was found. From the last article: "...investigators responded to the park and were escorted to an area located off one of the trails where more human remains were discovered. " I suppose someone or an animal could have moved the entire body to its final resting place, or, the body has remained where it was when the person died.

Thanks - the article I read only mentioned the skull.

 

[Elainera]

Good info, thanks. But more than the skull was found. From the last article: "...investigators responded to the park and were escorted to an area located off one of the trails where more human remains were discovered. " I suppose someone or an animal could have moved the entire body to its final resting place, or, the body has remained where it was when the person died.

"where more human remains were discovered" sounds to me that not all parts were discovered. jmo I might be wrong.

 

[Tripod]

I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but I do hope it is Rodney. If it is, it's another case of searchers and dogs not locating a missing person who is there, none the less. If it's him, he could also have been moving around in another area and ended up there after it was searched.
Regardless, I've thought of him often and hope the remains can be ID'd relatively quickly.

 

[sasha17]

"Human remains found February 25 off a trail at Devil's Den State Park was that of hiker Rodney Letterman, 37, who went missing August 2017, according to Washington County Spokesperson Kelly Cantrell."

Human Skull Found at Devil's Den State Park is Missing Hiker

 

[Gardener1850]

Rodney Letterman was last seen on August 27, 2017 near a hiking trail in Devil's Den. He was last seen hiking on Butterfield Trail with a friend, when the two were separated.

The Sheriff's Office says at this time, they have been unable to determine the cause of death.

Washington Co. Sheriff's Office identifies remains found near Devil's Den

BBM

 

[Gardener1850]

"Human remains found February 25 off a trail at Devil's Den State Park was that of hiker Rodney Letterman, 37, who went missing August 2017, according to Washington County Spokesperson Kelly Cantrell."

Human Skull Found at Devil's Den State Park is Missing Hiker

From that link: "Cantrell states there is no indication of foul play at this time."

 

[neesaki]

Omg, I wonder what happened?

 

[Elainera]

Found at last. RIP Rodney.

 

[Vail]

I wouldn't wish it on anyone, but I do hope it is Rodney. If it is, it's another case of searchers and dogs not locating a missing person who is there, none the less. If it's him, he could also have been moving around in another area and ended up there after it was searched.
Regardless, I've thought of him often and hope the remains can be ID'd relatively quickly.

This is tough terrain for searchers and dogs, with some steep areas that would have been inaccessible. Within a month or two, Rodney would have been black and decomposed in the autumn groundcover, making it even harder to see or identify. You hear about so many bodies found way later in the woods because skeletal remains become brighter and easier to distinguish after they have weathered. Here is a video showing some of the Devils Den trails

 

[neesaki]

He was so young, Rodney was only 33 years old. I really hope they can determine cause of death, otherwise there will always be questions.

 

[Tripod]

This is tough terrain for searchers and dogs, with some steep areas that would have been inaccessible. Within a month or two, Rodney would have been black and decomposed in the autumn groundcover, making it even harder to see or identify. You hear about so many bodies found way later in the woods because skeletal remains become brighter and easier to distinguish after they have weathered. Here is a video showing some of the Devils Den trails

Thanks for the video. You make good points, certainly! The curious thing would be why and how Rodney ended up in such an inaccessible area. There will probably never be an answer

 

[TatianaBarbie]

The news story that @sasha17 linked, Human Skull Found at Devil's Den State Park is Missing Hiker , had a news video attached, which stated that his remains were found 3 miles from the visitor center, on private property. That probably explains why Rodney wasn't found in the initial search efforts. Perhaps he could have been found alive in the initial search if they had found any evidence he had been moving in that direction, but they didn't find any such evidence. RIP Rodney.

ETA: Devil's Den State Park is only 2 miles long (at it longest point) and less than a mile wide. It is partially surrounded by the Ozark National Forest on 3 sides. Private property is north of Devil's Den SP. The trail Rodney was planning to hike started and ended in Devil's Den SP, but much of the trail is located in the Ozark NF.

 

[tellmetrue]

The news story that @sasha17 linked, Human Skull Found at Devil's Den State Park is Missing Hiker , had a news video attached, which stated that his remains were found 3 miles from the visitor center, on private property. That probably explains why Rodney wasn't found in the initial search efforts. Perhaps he could have been found alive in the initial search if they had found any evidence he had been moving in that direction, but they didn't find any such evidence. RIP Rodney.

ETA: Devil's Den State Park is only 2 miles long (at it longest point) and less than a mile wide. It is partially surrounded by the Ozark National Forest on 3 sides. Private property is north of Devil's Den SP. The trail Rodney was planning to hike started and ended in Devil's Den SP, but much of the trail is located in the Ozark NF.

It was said that this area *had* been searched. That figures, because it appears, to me, that he was found either along a creek, or a ridge above a creek, and that would fit with a SAR MO, I think...knowing that lost people often go to the stream beds. This search included 127 workers and volenteers who searched 4000 acres over 6 sq. miles, per this news video: Remains found in Arkansas park identified as missing Oklahoma man

I know this area, a bit; have hiked on the Butterfield Trail. It does not make sense that the man would get up and wander off, leaving his cell phone, while a friend was going to get his medication for him because he was feeling sick...much less wander off the trail, and out of the park. The trail is easy to find, and from what I have ascertained, he was only about 1 mile in down the easy-to-see trail. So this was very odd behavior, IMO.

 

[tellmetrue]

He was so young, Rodney was only 33 years old. I really hope they can determine cause of death, otherwise there will always be questions.

I wonder how they can determine the cause of death if the entire remains were not recovered. I don't know squat about forensics at this time. I suppose they can determine if his skull had a bullet wound, or if any of his other bones did...or any kind of evidence of blunt force trauma that couldn't be attributed to a fall, like a broken leg, ankle, or arm or wrist.

 

[Smc33]

I did a solo overnight on the Butterfield Trail 2 weeks after Rodney went missing. It is inconceivable that he wandered off and got hopelessly lost. I was shocked to hear his remains were found; I always assumed he engineered his own disappearance. He had a drug conviction and subsequent probation violation is Kansas a few years ago....I feel like this will end up being connected drugs in some way. The placement of his phone and possessions seems to be an effort to mislead searchers to the wrong location.

 

[tellmetrue]

I did a solo overnight on the Butterfield Trail 2 weeks after Rodney went missing. It is inconceivable that he wandered off and got hopelessly lost. I was shocked to hear his remains were found; I always assumed he engineered his own disappearance. He had a drug conviction and subsequent probation violation is Kansas a few years ago....I feel like this will end up being connected drugs in some way. The placement of his phone and possessions seems to be an effort to mislead searchers to the wrong location.

We went hiking out the Butterfield Trail today. They've put up more of the blue trail markers since Rodney disappeared, and *that* needed to happen, to keep people from being confused about which trail is which. But the trail itself is pretty well worn; hard to miss, and if you've just hiked down it, well, you'd have to be pretty incapacitated to wander off of it. Was it drugs? Was his hiking partner involved in some way? Was is suicide? Or something unknown and malevolent? I still don't get it that they searched this area, and with dogs, and no one detected an odor of a decomposing body. The person who found his remains...was he hiking on the private property, or had he also wandered off the state park grounds? Was he looking for Rodney?

Well, we may never know. I hope the family has found some peace with the discovery of his remains. Maybe now they can move on, instead of waiting for that other shoe to drop. For myself, living near the park, I admit it's given the park a little spooky aura, for me.