INDIANAPOLIS — The mystery of human remains found inside a large metal tank on a rural Hendricks County property has been solved.
A property owner just outside Brownsburg was working to clear the property just across the Marion- Hendricks County line in July 2013 when a scrapper opened the metal container to dispose of it. When the scrapper cut a hole in the well pump tank to remove debris, he noticed bones and a sock.
A team of law enforcement officials responded to the scene to recover the remains. Along with the remains, officials found a pair of Reebok shoes and a distinctive hat with the logo “Appalachian Mechanical” on it.
Anthropologists at the University of Indianapolis analyzed the bones and determined them to belong to a Caucasian or Hispanic man who was 40-60 years old at the time of his death.
A bone from the remains was sent to a Texas Lab in 2018 in an attempt to extract DNA. The University of North Texas Center for Human Identification. The center performs forensic genetic and anthropological examinations for criminal casework and missing person identification.
On June 7, the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department learned DNA from the bones matched samples from one of their cases.
The case dates back to April 19, 1988, when Norma Turner went to the Indiana State Police because she had not seen or been in touch with her ex-husband, John E. Turner. He was last seen on April 11, 1988, a week after Easter Monday.
More than three decades later, a detective with the IMPD’s missing person’s division contacted John’s daughter and grandson to collect DNA samples. These samples were sent to the University of North Texas.
The University of North Texas was able to take the DNA and match it to DNA from the bone collected by the Hendricks County Sheriff’s Office in 2013. Dan Chubb, Chief Deputy for the Hendricks County Coroner’s Office, says this was a difficult case for the office.
Amanda Goings with the Hendricks County Sheriff’s Office said the evolution of DNA technology means they are always looking back at older cases to see if they can’t bring a resolution to them.
Remains identified, but questions remain
While it was a tragic outcome for family members of John Turner, Goings said the identification brings some answers to the family.
“Ultimately, this is a very tragic event in their lives, and obviously with 30 some years of history behind them, they’ve been suffering with this for a long time, not knowing, and not having answers,” said Goings. “So to be able to give them at least a small piece of the information is quite rewarding.”
The remains found inside a metal container on a Hendricks County property have been identified as an Indianapolis man missing since 1988.
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