Wow........just, wow! It would be fantastic if it did turn out to be Stacy's remains, or Lisa's. Because of the blue barrel being found downstream, not too far from the remains, I'd lean more toward it being Stacy.
It was mentioned by the bar owner that there were fall floods and the river was out of it's banks leaving debris on the shoreline. In the first article it mentions a log jam of debris that was being cleared when the remains were found.
Purely speculation, but I can see the likelihood that if the remains were in the blue barrel and the barrel was somewhere upstream, that in the torrent of raging flood waters, the barrel would be carried downstream along with logs and other debris. In the strong current created by the flooding, the barrel would be tossed against other objects and get damaged, and at some point break open. The remains might then be deposited on other debris while the current carries the damaged barrel a bit further downstream until it too becomes lodged near the bank along with other debris.
I M O!